Unique
by Imbalance
Summary: Daichi died. In a conflux of magic, chance, and perhaps a bit of divine intervention, he finds himself waking up once more in a universe he believed to be fantasy. With his newfound body and metaknowledge of the timeline Daichi sets course for munchkinland. The land of milk and honey (covered titties) awaits him! He just needs to make sure nobody can take what is his in the process
1. Prologue

**A/N: **If you've read any of my other stories, you can likely skip to the end of this chapter. Some of them have different details at the end. I'm working off the multiverse theory for all of them, so some shenanigans are allowed, and I can be a lazy bastard when I think it suits me and the story.

**Prologue**

He died. It's a quiet thing, to die while sleeping. No tragic accident, no murder, no stupid mistakes or suicide. He simply fell asleep, his body died, and his spirit left. Medically, it would be labeled as heart failure as a result of long term cardiac disease, after his family or coworkers noticed and reported he was missing.

Not to say he was in pain or suffered. It truly was a peaceful, quiet passing. His family and friends were aware of his situation. They would be sad and grieve, and he would miss them, but as he looked down on his peacefully resting corpse, he knew they would ultimately be fine, and therefore, so would he, though that didn't stop him from letting out a heavy sigh as he floated around his room.

Or at least a metaphysical sigh, seeing as he couldn't actually breathe or move air any longer.

With nothing left to do but calmly wait for whatever happens after death, which was already surprising enough as he thought about it; the fact that there was actually something _after _death, he decided to reflect on who he was as a person.

He grew up in a loving middle class home, never wanting for anything, though that's not to say he was spoiled. He was raised by a single mother, with one little sister, both of whom he loved dearly. He lived his life as he wanted, pursuing happiness and fulfillment over money and fame, and while he never felt that he had found his true calling, he lived well enough.

If he had to guess, he held a positive karmic balance, though he was definitely no Gandhi. He loved animals, animals loved him, he was a huge nerd, and he read voraciously. He treated everyone he met at least neutrally, and was always true to who he was as a person, never compromising his morals or ideals.

He graduated university with an engineering degree, made some decent money, left it all to his little sister, and died.

The summary of his obituary would read:

_James Everett – an incredibly smart asshole who lived, laughed, and loved. He will be missed dearly._

Next to which a picture of his mid-thirties scruffy grin would be printed in black and white. If it was color, you'd have seen his hazel eyes and neatly kept short brown hair.

And then he started crying, which was weird, since his metaphysical tears simply evaporated once they fell off his face, which again, was weird, since he appeared more as a floating white wisp and had no face, or even eyes to cry from. Mentally he chuckled dryly, even in death he deflected pain with humor.

Because ultimately, he didn't want to die. He never got married, he never fell in love, he never would get to see and do so very many different things, and that, no matter how much he thought he had prepared himself for the inevitable eventuality, hurt.

Which was precisely when the process for his afterlife began.

It appears honestly accepting everything was the kickstarter to his next destination, as once he admitted how he truly felt he was jerked from his room, pulled up through his roof, above his city, through the clouds, all the way until he hung above the shining blue gem of his beautiful planet Earth where he briefly stopped for a moment and was allowed to appreciate the splendor of his world as it turned and spun through space.

Then the pull resumed, and he was tugged further.

He saw the Milky Way, and was allowed to watch it rotate as stars spun themselves into and out of existence. Then the pull began again and he witnessed clusters of galaxies zoom past until he hovered at what he believed was the edge of his universe, and watched the intricate web of infinity dance and pulse.

Time meant nothing to him during the entirety of this process, and he basked in the presence of the universe, of life and death, soaking up as much as he could, as much as he would be allowed. He never wanted it to end, but all things must eventually cease, and so too did this. He was momentarily depressed as the pull returned, though he could tell whoever was behind it understood his feelings, and was gracious enough to slowly pull him from the grasp of his universe.

It was only once he had fully left the grip of his old home, that his perspective once again shifted. He gazed down upon his universe as he knew it, and saw it in its entirety from beyond the wall. A glowing marble of incredible potential, separated from other, similar marbles by the barest of margins. They spread in every direction imaginable, and some unimaginable, beyond his comprehension as he witnessed an unknown number of marbles overlap, some occasionally bouncing out of their shivering, layered mass, while others bounced in.

It was at this point he had to shut out his consciousness, as whatever had been guiding him thus far could or would no longer extend its protection to his mind; and he felt the scale, the impossibility of the scope threaten to crush him. So he closed himself off from his surroundings, retreating into the depths of his soul to protect himself, and there he stayed. He clung to his internal ego; to his memories, and experiences, the foundation and structure of what made him who he was, where he floated, embraced in warmth, embraced in the darkness, for an unknown amount of time.

And then the darkness left.

Every clash of steel, every burst of magic, sent tremors through the entirety of the underworld. Seven beings, gods, devils, angels, the strongest members of each coalition worked in concert against one entity. A single man, his form fully covered in blood red armor, the shape reminiscent of one of the pinnacle monsters of their world.

_Boost!_

His armor sang, causing every member of the strike team to grimace. Every moment that passed, their odds of survival decreased dramatically. One of their comrades spoke up as the squad prepared their next assault.

"We must end this with the next strike. If he boosts again, we will lose."

The others nodded in acknowledgment.

"I will take the hit," he continued. "Strike him down the moment the opening presents itself." Another round of nods followed as the group spread out, the crimson dragon, Sekiryuutei, floated seemingly unconcerned as he watched his attackers prepare themselves.

Their initial ambush failed, only managing to transport him to a desolate section of the underworld, the first strike having been avoided. The following combat had been devastating, the wasteland below now covered in craters, canyons, and glass.

The next assault was over within less than a blink of an eye. The forms of the seven blurred, a crimson gauntlet pierced through the stomach of their ally, golden blood dripped from the tips of the claws, falling to the earth in the same instant nine ultimate attacks landed on the red scale armor.

The combination of energies briefly mixed together, trapping the pair within a vortex of color that slowly collapsed, imploding in the next instant. The shockwave from their combined assault shook the underworld one final time.

A single blackened figure fell from the air, swiftly caught by one of their fellows. A dose of Phoenix tears, true tears of the mythological beast, was administered to what was essentially a corpse. Their gambit paid off, the only remains of their enemy being a gauntlet of red, a green gem set within the dorsal side of the gear. The item itself was slowly dissipating into the ether, returning to the system set in place by a dead god. The previously destroyed figure grunted in thanks to their companion.

"Let us all hope the next Red Dragon Emperor requires less of a sacrifice should the worst come to pass." A crimson haired devil spoke. Nods of agreement passed around the group as they collectively sighed.

"Thank you, Inari. All of us are in your debt for pulling out your trump card. We would have suffered much heavier losses had we delayed any longer." Sirzechs Lucifer spoke once more. Inari sighed in displeasure.

"I can only pull that stunt off once a millennia. The favors I'll be calling in down the line will not be cheap." His characteristic fox tail swished behind him to punctuate the statement. The group smiled as a whole, part in relief and part in chagrin.

As the group spoke, watching the gauntlet of their enemy fade, a separate event was occurring just below them. It was an insignificant thing after the clash that had just taken place, but nevertheless drew the attention of the one at the center of the group.

"It appears I have some additional business to attend to," Inari spoke as he peered at the earth beneath them. A somewhat surprised and contemplative look passed over his face. The group floated down as a whole, stepping upon shards of obsidian glass as they witnessed a somewhat unusual sight for the current day and age.

A golden drop of blood seemed to congeal briefly before flowing into a single shard of polished black glass. A reaction occurred, the glass undulating in an uncharacteristic fashion until it expanded rapidly into the shape of a small kit curled in on itself as though asleep. Its fur was the deepest shade of black, glossy and fine, reminiscent of the material from which it spawned.

"It appears you're a father once more, Inari," a man with an eyepatch chuckled in good humor. "I can already tell with the shade of his fur, he'll be rolling in gloriously big tits in his future." The others rolled their eyes at his words, though an unnoticed smirk passed the man's lips as a flash of power flitted behind his sole eye. Inari snorted in response.

"Indeed. I will be staying until my new spawn awakens. The rest of you are more than welcome to accompany me, though I understand if other matters require your attention."

The group as a whole exchanged glances before bursting into laughter.

"Inari, this is the perfect excuse to extend our stay, away from all of our normal duties and paperwork. Come, come, I happen to have a bottle of Atlantian whiskey that I've been holding onto for a special occasion. Let's all have a drink while we wait for the new little fox to awaken." A bottle of ancient history popped into existence within the hands of Odin followed by seven glasses that quickly found themselves filled.

"A toast," one of the angels, Michael, stated. "To victory, and the future."

He woke to the clink of glasses, eyes blinking rapidly as he witnessed Sirzechs Lucifer, Serafall Leviathan, Inari Okami, Odin Borson, the seraphs Michael and Gabriel, and fallen angel Azazel toasting and taking a sip of something.

His first emotion was complete and utter confusion, quickly matched in intensity by sheer terror as he cowered beneath the gazes of some of this world's strongest entities, all standing around and watching him as they enjoyed their spirits.

It hadn't even been a conscious interpretation of the situation. His mind simply matched faces to names in his memory and instantly triggered his fight or flight response as scenes of destruction played out in his mind's eye. The man with the aspects of a fox leaned over and gently picked him up, staring into his eyes the whole time.

"There, there, child. You're a rather interesting spawn, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically. It was a curiosity to find a newly born Yokai with the level of intelligence and understanding that this one had. His hands gently stroked soft fur in a soothing manner, only confusing the young canid further as his head whipped around trying to keep everyone in his sight at once. The man hummed in contemplation.

"Yes… Interesting indeed. Young one, I name you Daichi. You can think of me as your father, little kitsune." A gentle smile graced his features for a moment.

"I'll take you somewhere you can grow at your own pace, sleep now, child." A finger gently tapped the kit on its forehead. Drowsiness seemed to layer itself over his mind. As he struggled against drifting back to the abyss, the young kitsune heard an additional snippet of conversation.

"Inari! I will help, but only if I get to cuddled little Daichi!" Serafall stated, hearts in her eyes at the adorable young fox. Gabriel followed up barely a moment after.

"I will as well, Inari," a similar expression on her face as she stared at the glossy sheen of the incredibly soft fur.

His eyes closed soon after, missing the remainder of the conversation. Odin shared a look with Azazel, as if to say _'I told you so!'_ The pair grinned lewdly. A new player had joined the game. Sirzechs lightly chuckled.

"Inari, did you purposefully make his name a pun?" The group turned to him questioningly.

"What?" An incredulous look crossed his face. "You're telling me you didn't name a _Yako_ kitsune Great Earth on purpose?" Inari's eye twitched as a frown marred his normally congenial features.

"Sirzechs, I hate you for this. That pun is terrible." Odin guffawed off to the side. "It's Great Wisdom! I'm never going to be able to forget this now! A kitsune of the earth with the name Great Earth! Damnit!"

**A/N:**

Yo, this is one of the fanfictions I've been piddling with. I'll be tossing all of them up. They're across several different fandoms, so take your pick and hit me with some constructive feedback. It's likely most of my work can be considered Self Insert fictions in some capacity. If you hate SI fics, I recommend you read something else. If you're just going to be bitching about the story direction or what you want to see, gonna be honest here and straight up tell you I don't particularly care. These are my stories playing with other people's universes, so your wishes and desires for how I play in my playground mean nothing to me.

Unless you own the original content. Then I might care.

The cover art is not mine. I do not own it. The artist is Jade Merian and can be found here:

/profile/jademerien

**Warnings for this story**

This is rated M for a reason.

Harem

Profanity, Sexual Content, Violence


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Daichi woke once more only to find himself surrounded by trees that towered over him. As a baby fox, this was to be expected, yet even as small as he was, he could tell that these trees were still massive and ancient.

Memories slowly trickled back in as he took stock of his surroundings.

He recalled being in the darkness for so long, simply being pulled along. Then the tugging had stopped for a time, a time where he simply floated in the abyss of his own consciousness. He had no way of knowing how much time had passed, but there was a marked difference in length when he finally felt something new.

A sucking sensation pulled him along this time. It was brief in comparison to his previous trip, and feeling soon returned to him in a burst of sensation. It was a completely unique experience, one he was having trouble putting to words in his own mind. It was as if his soul and… _something else_ were smooshed together.

_No, that's not right._ He thought to himself._ More like… a warmth permeated my very being. Like a warm bath for my soul._ Then the pulling and stretching occurred. It wasn't painful, he recalled. Simply uncomfortable.

Then he opened his new eyes to find colossal beings of immense power from straight out of a world he believed to be fantasy standing around him sipping alcohol.

_There's a lot to digest there._ He sat on his… haunches. Another thing to contemplate, but in a moment. Running through his memories once more, he came to several conclusions.

Reincarnation was real, the Christian God was most definitely alive, and he was now an animal. The last two definitely required more thought than the first. Daichi moved forward through the trees, hopping onto and over large roots as he mindlessly surveyed his surroundings in search of a landmark or potential home. His natural instincts seemed to be assisting locomotion and observation, since four legged travel was a new experience, along with all of the new sights, sounds, and smells assaulting his mind. Learning how to walk and cope with everything all at once would have been immensely overwhelming. Small blessings.

His first moments in this world were a slap in the face of character existence, so there was no debate for the world he found himself within; DxD. There were worse places he could have been dropped, that's for sure. However, the fact that the big man upstairs had stuffed him into this world was confusing. The best theory he had at the moment was his Godly Avatar was what had perished during the Great War, and as such he now had limited influence within this sphere, at least for a time. It was all he could come up with for now, so he ran with the idea and dismissed it as tentatively solved. Unless it wasn't the Christian God, and was another multi-universal entity that deposited his soul in this particular place. Circular thoughts, discussion tabled for now.

The issue of being an animal was a much more prevalent and distressing problem. One that required an immediate assessment.

He was a fox. If his memory of his first moments were accurate, specifically he was a kitsune. A Yokai. That firmly placed him in the Eastern world since his mythology was either Chinese or Japanese, and since Inari was present at his… birth? Birth.

Daichi decided it was a safe bet that he was Japanese, and most likely now located in Japan. He doubted his father? would be willing to let a newly formed kitsune out of his jurisdiction. From what he knew, most Yokai likely weren't spawned of the gods anymore in this universe either, which made him somewhat of a special case. With a tentative grasp on the Why, Who, and Where, Daichi was left with the What and When of his situation.

He stumbled, the sudden lack of roots and trees blocking his path sending him sprawling. Apparently he still had some work to do on the whole movement thing. It was fine, he'd conquer that _just as he planned to conquer everything else in this world._

Stop a moment. Blink. That thought-slash-urge was strange.

A flash of white in the corner of his eye caught his attention. A rabbit, slightly larger than himself sat perched not too far away from him. He had stumbled out into what appeared to be a massive field, though he could still see the great trees towering in the distance.

Daichi sniffed the air, hesitant to leave the shadow of the forest at his back. It was definitely a rabbit. _Prey._ Looked like a rabbit, smelled like a rabbit, _tastes_ _like a rabbit_. He blinked again. The What needed some serious thought, and soon, but first, the horned treat in front of him demanded his attention.

Horned treat. Horned rabbits.

Inari placed him in the starter zone of this world. What. The. Fuck. How does something like this even exist? Wait. Stop.

He wasn't complaining, but this was… he wasn't sure what this was anymore. Fuck it. Food now, find a den after, What and When soon after that. To-Do list made. Stealth mode, engage.

Daichi crept around the edge of the field, sticking to the shadows of the trees while sliding over roots and fallen leaves, his belly pressed to the ground as he stalked his prey. He was the hunter in this moment. Death on silent paws. The horned rabbit never saw it coming.

Daichi was nearly on top of the beast when he struck, teeth gnashing as he ripped a massive gouge out of the throat of his adversary. Blood sprayed across the grass around them, the rabbit turning to flee but only making it a single hop before collapsing and falling still. A brief surge lifted his spirit as he watched the rabbits eyes glass over.

Daichi sniffed at the blood in the air. His instincts must have been helping his human side cope with what he was dealing with as he buried his maw into the soft flesh of his meal. It was delicious. The warm blood, the tender meat, the satisfying crunch of bone. His human mind would have almost assuredly rebelled against this meal entirely. Even now he felt some part of his mind laced with the tiniest amount of disgust and loathing.

That was fine. He wouldn't be in this form forever.

Appetite satiated, Daichi returned to the trees. He had spotted a very conveniently located burrow beneath one of the behemoths as he had been stalking his dinner. With some careful sniffing about and attentive listening, it was determined to be abandoned, and with great satisfaction Daichi claimed it for himself.

He needed to answer the What and When as best he could for now. Then perhaps afterwards he would search for a water source. One had to be nearby if there were creatures living among the grasses.

He began his observations of himself. Black fur, vicious impulses, confirmed kitsune. Recalling what he knew of Japanese mythology took a few moments, but he eventually managed. Differentiating between Chinese and Japanese fox spirits was important.

From what he recalled, there were two types of fox spirit Yokai, the Zenko, or heavenly foxes, like Yasaka and Kunou, and the Yako, the earthly foxes. There was an important distinction between the two beyond their titles. Zenko were benevolent spirits, evident by the kind and soft nature of the mother-daughter pair in the DxD series. The Yako were the reverse side of the kitsune coin.

While not inherently malicious or evil, Yako had the predisposition to be mischievous and vicious if provoked or uneducated. Daichi's human past would help balance his Yako urges, so this wasn't overly concerning for him. Beyond a kitsune's nature was the next most important fact: how they accrued power.

There were two ways for a kitsune to ascend. The first was the long, patient way. Daichi labeled this as the incredibly inefficient path to power, especially with the preponderance of enemies available in this world, even during "peace time".

The long route to ascension was the result of a century or millennia of passive power and experience growth. A kitsune gained a tail every hundred years of life, regardless of their activities. Each tail was an exponential power boost, and if it didn't take such a long wait period, might have been considered cheating by most other species in the world. As it was, however, a century was more than enough for any entity to surpass the power gifted by gaining a tail this way.

The shorter route was the traditional path most beings took. Training, fighting, and killing. Training enhanced natural energy expenditure and consumption, expediting the expansion of the soul to enable it to house more power. Fighting, particularly to the death, even further enhanced the speed of natural energy transfer, while killing provided the greatest boost to power, directly siphoning a portion of the slain foe's natural energy.

His Yako side seemed to present this knowledge as an obvious matter of course, something similar to ancestral memories. It was why his spirit was briefly buoyed after slaying the horned rabbit. This was his future path, of this there was no doubt. He could attain his kyuubi form, his nine tails form, within two decades as long as he had an abundance of strong enemies to face. Enemies would be his ultimate bottleneck for progression, though if he was still pre-canon that could be solved rather easily.

Tenko, ten tails, was a different story. Nine tails were already borderline Satan class entities, sitting at the apex of Ultimate class devils. Ten tails firmly pushed them into Satan class, and potentially beyond. There was a reason it was called 'ascending'. It was also the tail that held different requirements to attain, requirements that were unknown for both his prior world knowledge and current ancestral memories.

In China, where the mythology of kitsune originated, the numbers three and nine held a special significance to their beliefs. Tails three, six, and nine were milestones of progress, providing an even larger boost than the rest. This paled in comparison to ten tales. In ancient China, nine was viewed as the pinnacle number. Nine is a multiple of three, a sacred number, but nine is also the apex of numbers before everything returned to zero.

In returning to zero, a kitsune surpassed the apex, ascending beyond the mundane. In essence, they became gods. A walking force of nature, which was more than literal when senjutsu was taken into account. Combine senjutsu with youjutsu, kasha, and touki, it becomes a bit more evident as to the reason why a ten tails kitsune was so unbelievably powerful. It was also the reason why ten tails were almost entirely unheard of in any universe.

Nine tails were already unbelievably powerful. Yasaka was essentially in a class all her own, which never really added up for Daichi. She was on the cusp of godhood, yet tolerated, or was even attracted to Issei. Daichi hoped it was only this world's porn logic, or twisted writer's schemes as to why certain events took place. Daichi would be doing plenty of experiments later to potentially bend and break the porn laws of this universe. That moron of a main character didn't deserve the myriad of spectacular women that threw themselves at him. He almost felt bad for his plans to cockblock the majority of Issei's harem.

Almost.

He wouldn't completely ruin the kid's dream of course, but no man deserved to have thirty plus women at his beck and call. That's abuse of power and shitty writing rolled into a single package. He wasn't jealous, that wasn't a factor. Not at all. _They were his anyway._

Ah. Yako side again. It kept cropping up with possessive impulses and thoughts of domination. Resting his head on his paws, Daichi took a moment to actually analyze his feelings on these new urges, but quickly shrugged. It was an obvious conclusion.

He planned to stand at the top of this world anyway. Indulging his instincts in the process simply made his future endeavors smoother. If he acquired plenty of beautiful women in the process, well, he was a red-blooded male in a world of perfect tits and loose sexual morals.

Thoughts of world domination and a harem of beautiful women were lofty goals to set, but he needed to take the next step to make those goals a reality. The first had already been taken, all that remained was to continue on the path. With that thought he stood and padded out of his new home.

He had monsters to slay.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Three years.

Three years of hunting, of fighting, of slaughter.

Three years, Daichi stalked the forest, slaying horned rabbits, demonic rodents, warped birds of prey. His quarry expanded in size and power as he grew. Warped hogs, magical deer, demonic wolves, harpies, non-sentient yokai; his prey was vast and varied. After a certain time, normal animals and monsters failed to speed his growth. His vulpine form did not stop at the size of a mundane fox. At this point in his life, he was approximately the size of a dire wolf, approaching the size of some bears. He was sitting on the cusp of his second tail; the one that would allow transformation to a more humanoid form, as well as the capability to alter the size of his animal side.

He had never been able to answer the question of When he was in the story. The leaders of the three factions of Christianity working together suggested it was relatively close to canon, as they had something of a cordial working relationship between them during the story even before peace was officially declared.

He had no clues as to their motivation for banding together, but reevaluating his brief memories of the moment, several details stuck out. He was born of obsidian, blackened glass, most likely a result of one of the group member's attacks. The only entities that would warrant such a massive response of a combined force would be other gods, Satan class devils, or similar entities.

They were in the underworld, which meant angels and gods could likely be discounted. The only Satan class devils available for this kind of effort would be of the Old Satan Faction, and they didn't start making moves until later during canon. Unless one of the leaders of a group went… berserk…

They were killing off one of the dragon emperors. There was no way to tell which one, but it mattered little. Assuming that sacred gears were immediately put back into circulation upon the previous wielder's death by God's system, Issei was seventeen and Vali was eighteen at the start of canon, meaning Daichi had been born around the same time period as they were. He'd spent three years hunting monsters, leaving him with an estimated twelve to fifteen to continue amassing power. By the start of canon, best case, he could theoretically have five to six tails. That would make him a force to be reckoned with. The only question was how to achieve it within the time frame.

Every faction had problems. Stray devils or exorcists, malicious yokai, rebellious fallen angels. Bounty hunting would kill several birds with one stone. It would be a way to amass power from fighting and killing, provide a source of income, allow him to travel, and eliminate threats to himself and society. Hell, he already had something of an in with most of the factions considering a few of his visitors over the last three years.

* * *

It had been two months since Daichi had been reincarnated. His first two weeks in what he had sardonically labeled _The Forest of Beginnings_ had been dedicated to his genocidal rampage against the horned rabbit species. For some inexplicable reason, the meadow that he haunted never seemed to run out of the little fuckers. He had slain an untold number, and unless he consumed them, their cooling corpses disappeared not long after he passed them by.

It had taken two weeks for the energy influx to peeter off into negligible gains and send him hunting for larger, more constructive prey. He was the size of an adult fox, perhaps slightly larger as his size pushed towards a medium sized dog. It was good that his size had increased so much, as he found his next prey not far from the meadow.

Rodents ranging from small to medium sized dogs had crafted a burrow within a hill slightly beyond the far side of the open field. He labeled them rodents, but he imagined they were qualified to be called kobolds, though if they held any form of intelligence, he had been unable to discover it in the following weeks he spent slaughtering them. He had moved his den closer to his new source of food and energy, giving him easy access to both the meadow which held his source of water and food, and his energy supply. Even as a fox he had standards, and eating what was essentially rat fell far below them.

It was nearing the time where he would have needed to once again move farther afield to find new sources of energy that his first visitor came calling.

He was taking a siesta beneath his favorite tree. He had grown to roughly the size of a large retriever by this point in time and had decided a break from his near constant struggle against the rat hordes was needed. It was during this time a flash of red erupted from the center of the meadow, a telltale sign of devil teleportation, if he recalled the details correctly. Sniffing the wind, a hint of perfume reminiscent of an arctic sea breeze caressed his nose.

Barely moments later, a young woman dressed as an archetypical magical girl seemed to pop into existence in front of him.

"Hello, little Daichi!" Serafall Leviathan bubbled out before registering the large fox in front of her. "Not so little anymore! You've gotten so big, Dai-tan!" Daichi snorted in response, the terrible pun causing his inner human to facepalm despite the humor. He stood, shaking off any possible dirt before circling his spot twice, then dropping back to the ground lazily. Tapping the dirt beside him with his paw, he gestured for the maou to sit, which she promptly did with no hesitation. It was a strange sight to see for any casual observer, a magical girl cuddling up against the side of a large fox. Daichi wrapped his tail around her, laying it in her lap for her to stroke as she giggled and babbled about mundane things, how cute her beloved So-tan is most of all.

As frightening of an existence as Serafall was, Daichi knew from his prior world's knowledge two very important facts. First, if she wanted him dead, as he was now, he would have died without even knowing it, so fearing for his life was a pointless exercise in anxiety. Second, she really just wanted some friends, and so Daichi, despite the surprise of her sudden and unexpected appearance in his domain, simply acted as if his old friend was dropping by. The alternative was blinding terror, so he opted to bury that portion, and grunt, woof, and grumble occasionally in response to Sera's one sided conversation.

She eventually seemed to run out of words to say, and the two sat in companionable silence for some time as she continued stroking the fur on his tail, though he eventually noticed her eyes and mind seemed to be in a far off place. Flexing the prehensile nature of his appendage, Daichi used the tip to lightly tickle her beneath her chin, bringing her back to the present with a smile. She fought in the devil civil war, so Daichi felt it was no surprise that she perhaps had some form of PTSD despite her personality. Perhaps that same personality was an extension of some form of trauma, though Daichi had no way to verify such speculation. Regardless, he much preferred pretty women to smile.

They both remained silent from then on, Serafall eventually falling asleep as she cuddled deeper into Daichi's soft and fluffy fur. He didn't mind. She was beautiful, and she obviously needed the rest if she was passing out so easily. The pair remained that way until the sun began truly falling below the horizon, painting the sky in various shades of pink, purple, and blue. Daichi regretted having to wake his visitor, since he had gotten rather lonely in the forest by himself, something he only realized now that another person had come to visit, but she would eventually have to leave and night was creeping up on them. He would simply have to go back to slaughtering innocent woodland creatures to keep his mind off of his lack of companionship.

Raising his snout, he pressed his wet nose into Serafall's ear and huffed gently causing her to quickly wake with a squeal as she leapt from her resting position. Daichi huffed in his equivalent of laughter as she wiped the feeling from her ear as she glared down at him.

"Dai-tan, that was mean!" Daichi simply rolled his eyes before gesturing with his nose towards the sky. Serafall puffed her cheeks out in a pout.

"Dai-tan still didn't have to wake me up in such an icky way!" He simply gave another roll of his eyes. Sitting up, he took a moment longer to balance himself before propping himself up on his hind legs and gave her nose a lick, causing her to giggle and wipe her face again.

"Daichi! So bold!" She faux blushed. Daichi snorted, staring intently at her lips to get his message across. _'Just wait, you only think that was bold.'_ His look caused her to giggle once more before stroking his head and taking a step back.

"You'll have to earn that one! Keep getting stronger, and maybe one day! I'll come visit again soon!" With a little wave, and a flick of Daichi's tail in acknowledgment, a burst of red light illuminated the meadow once more as Serafall departed. She became his most regular visitor over the course of the next three years, taking at least one day out of each month to check in and spend time with him. If he was honest with himself, Serafall Leviathan was the reason he remained sane in that forest.

For some unknown reason, all of the major leaders that had been present at his birth had stopped by several times to check in on him over the years. Sirzechs Lucifer stopped by twice, both times attempting to persuade him to join his little sister, Rias', peerage. Daichi had nearly scoffed in his face, even as a fox, though he was thankfully able to keep the condescension from the suggestions from his visage. Peerage members were essentially slaves. Even if the Gremory family treated their members as family, a _servant_ was still a subordinate to their master, and both Daichi's human and yako side recoiled in disgust at the idea of being subjected to another's influence.

Azazel and Odin almost always showed up together, the pair doing their best to indoctrinate him into the Brotherhood of Boobs. Daichi didn't need much persuasion for this, as he fully understood the magnificence that is a woman's body. Regardless of his Brotherhood membership, he still wouldn't act as a perverted buffoon. Doing so only tainted his own image, and was exceedingly rude to his female counterparts.

Michael only visited once a little over halfway through his three years within the forest. He mostly spoke of the outside world, his worries as the leader of heaven, and some of the concerns he held with the church. Daichi wished he visited more, since he was a font of knowledge and news. Maybe once he was able to leave the forest they could converse more.

Inari would drop in every three to four months, only for a few minutes at a time to gauge Daichi's growth. He essentially functioned as a glorified experience bar.

"Daichi, you've been growing well. I see the rats were no trouble. You're about ten percent of the way to your next tail."

"Daichi, another great step in progress. Twenty-five percent of the way to your second tail."

"Keep up the good work, Daichi. It looks like mundane animals and monsters are running out of efficacy for you. I'll start putting stronger monsters into the dimension to boost your growth. They'll be much tougher and more aggressive than before, so be careful. You're about a third of the way through to your second tail."

For his father, Inari certainly didn't seem to hold much attachment to the philosophy of a loving home for raising children. Daichi forgave him, however, as circumstances were rather unorthodox. He didn't really want a new father anyway.

Last but certainly not least was the Seraph Gabriel who regularly graced his little kingdom. She didn't visit as often as Serafall, but was nevertheless another being he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with. She was much like Serafall, often cuddling up into him and discussing everything and nothing, though the burden of her station often slipped through. He was a comforting shoulder for both women, and both women equally confided in him things he was certain they would have not shared had he held a humanoid form.

Regardless of their conversations, Daichi acted as their rock. A stable place for the two to come and visit without judgement. He would simply wrap them up in his tail and fur and comfort them while they talked. For Serafall, it was the pressure of her station, and being forced to hold a portion of the future of her species on her shoulders.

For Gabriel, it was similar, but she also seemingly struggled constantly with the temptation of Falling. He had quickly learned the innocent, naïve façade she kept up was simply an act to throw off her enemies. No being could remain so sheltered over the course of time. It was something that had been building within her for millennia, but her responsibilities to her post and support for the host of Heaven now that God had died had helped keep the impulses at bay.

Daichi had made his thoughts on that as clear as he could without directly speaking the words to go along with his actions. The day she had vented her worries of Falling, he had snorted derisively by accident. What followed had been a back and forth as Gabriel interrogated him over his impulsive action.

"What's that supposed to mean, you mischievous cretin?!" Gabriel had leveled Daichi with a glare. He groaned in response as his eyes rolled. That was going to be a bad habit in the future, he could already tell. Gabriel's glare had intensified, taking his response as an accusation against her character. Daichi moved his tail, caressing her cheek with it as he sighed, a sincere look in his eyes.

'_I didn't mean it that way, and you know it.'_ He moved his tail to pat her on her head, using the prehensile appendage to point at her glowing halo, then pat her on the head again. She seemed to deflate in response.

"Yes, I know I haven't Fallen yet. Everyone sees me as some infallible bastion of the light, but some days, I can't help but wonder what it would be like to Fall. To just leave all those responsibilities behind and just be me." She paused and sighed. "It's selfish, I know." Daichi huffed in response, making wild gestures with his tail that the angel somehow interpreted. Daichi blamed magic and just rolled with it.

"You're right. Thank you, Daichi. I know I'm allowed to have moments of weakness. Falling only happens when an angel gives in to a sin, after all. Still, I can't help but sometimes wonder what it would be like…" Gabriel trailed off. Daichi took his turn and glared at her, wrapping his tail possessively around her waist. When that failed to receive a response, he shifted his entire front half of his body on top of her, pinning her to ground as he stared into her eyes, tail once again possessively wrapping its way around one of her legs. He growled at her look of surprise causing her to burst into laughter.

"Fine, fine. I promise I won't Fall. At least not until you come to claim me for yourself." She punctuated her statement with a teasing wink and Daichi simply raised his head, an arrogant countenance in his eyes as if to say _'Of course, woman. You're already mine.' _Gabriel bopped him on the nose.

"However, you'll have to be much more powerful to be able to tempt me," she stated with a grin, punctuating it with a hug, squeezing him tightly as she murmured into his fur.

"Thank you."

Daichi hummed in response.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

That was how Daichi found himself three years later. Inari had popped in, declaring him sufficiently prepared for his second tail, and informed him of a new creature he had introduced to the environment, specifically to help catalyze his evolution. Thus far his energy diet consisted primarily of magical creatures and monsters once he had graduated beyond more mundane animals. While he had slain his fair share of higher energy bearing individuals, he required a vastly more powerful foe, at least compared to his level, to provide the explosive potential needed to push him to the next level.

Inari had only gone so far as to tell him of the creature's existence in the area. The hunt, study, and destruction of his enemy would be left entirely up to Daichi. This would be a true life and death struggle, one where he would either succeed and evolve, or die. Daichi fully planned to succeed. He had a Devil Lord to conquer and a Seraph to taint, no magically inclined pest would stop his ascent to power.

Inari popped out of existence and Daichi immediately began scenting the air. It was a few short minutes later of lurking in the deepest shadows of the trees when he finally detected a whiff of the new arrival and immediately regretted it. The stench was foul, even at his current distance.

With a crinkled nose, Daichi set off in pursuit. The sooner he killed the monstrosity tainting his little kingdom, the better. He didn't have to wait long. Lumbering through the trees in apparent confusion was a true monster.

A forest troll.

From various mythologies and fantastical sources, Daichi dredged up what he could remember about the disgusting creature before him as he lurked in the shadows.

Of note, trolls were incredibly stupid, which was apparent by the bumbling of the brute as it passed before him. In some tales, trolls had incredible regenerative vitality. Crippled by fire, those usually weren't the muscle head type like the one before him, being built strong yet more compact. Daichi was inclined to believe this held a closer resemblance to the trolls of the Harry Potter universe. Big, dumb, but with immense strength, if the massive club, which was essentially a tree, was any indication.

He couldn't fight this kind of enemy head on, at least not as he currently was. While it remained standing, he could not land a fatal strike. A single blow from a monster like this would spell his end. There were alternative solutions; if he could shred its Achilles tendon or hamstring the monster, and it would fall, giving him access to its vulnerable throat, but it would be safest to exercise patience. If it knew it was under attack, it would thrash and fight in its death throes. This would be a hunt in every sense of the word. He would stay in the shadows, waiting for a moment of weakness. Even magical creatures eventually had to rest. Not fighting it head on would decrease the amount of energy he received upon its death, but with how much magical potential it held it would be negligible for his current needs.

The rest of his week followed a very similar routine. He would only leave his quarry every few hours to eat, drink, and take very brief naps. Even on a hunt, the hunter had to keep its strength up, and the troll was a difficult prey. The troll's inherently magical nature kept it moving far longer than would be possible for normal creatures. Its path was littered with partially consumed corpses of various types of beasts; fuel for its unhindered trundle through the area.

A full week of constant travel had left Daichi in a foul mood. He was grumpy with lack of sleep, and his fur was matted and tangled in places, having forgone his regular baths to maintain vigilance over his prey. The pair had been climbing the nearby slope of a mountain for some time, still surrounded by trees though they had thinned slightly. It was hunting for a den, a cave still resided within its natural habitat.

The lower slopes of this mountain were littered with caves, so it was only a matter of time until the most dangerous part of Daichi's weeklong vigil was upon him. While it's true the troll would sleep and provide an opening to strike, the enclosed space of a cave would be immensely limiting for speed and movement. If he was too slow, or worse, missed the jugular in his strike, or even both, it was likely he would die.

If he missed, but survived, it would become a hunt of attrition. The troll would know it was being hunted, and free strikes would no longer be possible. Daichi would have to revert to his human side's ancestral style of persistence hunting, harrying his prey until it fell from exhaustion or blood loss if he was feeling brave enough to give it death by a thousand cuts.

The troll finally stumbled across an appropriately sized den during Daichi's contemplation. He would wait, to give it time to sort out its new home and allow it to fall into a deeper sleep. He had been patient this long; he could continue for another span of time.

An hour crouched at the mouth of the cave, peering around the corner through the gloom as his quarry circled the cavern before finally laying down. An additional hour, to ensure its sleep was deep and undisturbed. It was finally time.

Years of practice made him less than a ghost. A deadly specter, floating along on silent paws.

Twenty steps.

Fifteen.

Eight.

Four.

One.

He stood directly before the head of his prey, massive yet delicate throat exposed to the air as deep heaving breathes resounded within the cavern. His current size would only guarantee half of the throat to be shredded sufficiently to cause death. The creature was simply that massive. The troll snorted, causing Daichi to freeze in place as the monster shifted in its sleep.

Too much dawdling. Daichi braced himself to strike.

Bite, rip, tear, flee.

He opened his maw, nearly placing his teeth on the disgusting creature's filthy skin. He would need to wash his mouth out for days after this.

It all happened in a fraction of a second, his placement precise. Daichi flexed the muscles in his jaw, puncturing the jugular around the artery, ripping away the flesh in a massive chunk. Blood sprayed from the severed vein painting the walls of the cavern in time with the massive pulses of its heart, running in rivulets to the floor as a roar of absolute rage and terror tore itself from the monster's destroyed throat.

Daichi had already leapt beyond the lip of the cave, watching from a safe distance as the creature thrashed in pain and fear. It would still be some time before it would fall, the amount of blood in its massive body sustaining it for longer despite its inevitable demise. The troll, in its rage, eventually managed to spot its assailant watching from a distance. It hurled itself forward attempting to grasp its now mortal enemy. If it was destined to die, it would take its killer with it.

Or at least it would try.

Daichi danced away from the massive lumbering brute, dashing into the forest to hide amongst the shade of the trees. The monster attempted to pursue, scrabbling after the tail of its murderer, roars of pain and anger announcing its plight to the entirety of the forest. It was all for naught.

Daichi kept just enough of a lead to bait his prey to continue the chase, expediting the loss of blood the longer the pursuit continued. It only took a few short minutes for the troll to succumb, blood covering its torso and face as it tripped, falling to the earth. Several times it attempted to rise, only to find it had no strength to do so.

It finally fell for the final time, its breaths heaving, blood and spit frothing from its mouth as it began choking on its own blood. It was a long, fear filled death, evidenced by the troll's eyes as they flit about. Fear replaced rage as its inevitable demise encroached. It was not something Daichi enjoyed watching. The hunt was not a place for torture and fear. Death was meant to be clean, free of suffering.

As the troll ceased its struggles, its energy leaving it, Daichi stood vigil over it. He did not enjoy watching such suffering, but he was the cause, and therefore it was his responsibility to bear witness. The troll's breaths became rattling gasps, its limbs twitching as nerves failed to find purchase and began firing rapidly. Blood and oxygen started failing to reach the brain, exacerbating its condition. It was at the point that Daichi finally approached, assured of his safety and the troll's complete inability to defend itself.

Standing on the monster's back, Daichi placed his claws at the base of its skull just as it began seizing. With a flex, his razor-sharp implements slid beneath the thick skin, finding purchase against his prey's spine. With an additional flex, he severed the spinal column, instantly killing the troll, putting it out of its misery.

The influx of energy was massive, notably more than any other creature he had slain thus far. It continued building within him, all the energy he had absorbed thus far seemingly bursting from him as the new source caused his vessel to overflow. It was only a brief feeling, the perception of overflow transitioning from the entirety of his body to the base of his spine. A focused point next to his first tail began itching and tingling. A whine escaped his lips at how uncomfortable the sensation became.

With a sudden burst, a second tail sprouted into existence, relieving the itch and causing a sigh to echo out into the now silent woods. Daichi still stood in his fox form, but with the addition of his second tail a surge of knowledge came with it. Ancestral memories gave him the means to adopt a humanoid form now that he held enough power to maintain a transformation indefinitely.

However, he had other business to handle first. Namely washing the filth from his mouth and body. His fur needed cleaning and his mouth was still tainted with the taste of troll. Inari was undoubtedly watching in some capacity and now aware of his child's success. It was only a matter of time until he reappeared, but a bath and proper hygiene were a more prevalent concern for Daichi for the moment. Inari would show himself when he felt like it. If he was lucky, Sera and Gabby would show up too.

A bath, thorough mouth rinse, and rabbit snack later, Daichi was lounging in the afternoon sun as his fur dried, the warmth lulling him into a mindless trance.

It was the whispers and giggles that gave them away, his silent meditation making it easy to hear them as they lurked at the edges of his perception. With a grunt, he flicked one of his two tails up in the air, pointing it at them and waving. The pair simply seemed to pop into existence next to him with how fast they approached, each woman latching onto one of his tails, stroking the soft fur as they cuddled into it.

Daichi gave a soft groan accompanied with a roll of his eyes as Inari soon followed with a smile on his face.

"I'm surprised you didn't immediately transform."

Daichi grunted, pointedly looking at the two women still gushing over his tails. Inari laughed.

"Yes, you have a point, they would have been rather put out if you hadn't waited."

Gently tugging his tails from their grasp, Daichi gently stroked their cheeks with the tip before sitting up and facing the trio.

"Ready?" Inari asked. The Devil-Angel pair looked on with sparkling eyes.

Daichi nodded and began his first transformation.

It was another strange sensation. Not painful, or unpleasant, simply strange. His body rearranged itself, certain sections shifting and collapsing in on itself as his mass rapidly decreased. To the onlookers it simply looked as if the massive fox in front of them vanished. Sitting in its place was a six-year-old beastkin boy, black ears perked up atop his head and two midnight black tails waved in concert behind him.

Looking down, Daichi frowned and covered himself, his first words in his new life passing his lips soon after as he looked up at the girls.

"No free shows."


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

A pair of squeals sounded out as the two women practically jumped on him, squishing him between them as they collectively cuddled. Daichi had a look of desperation on his face, pleading with Inari to save him, though he was soon betrayed as the god raised his hands and backed away with a smile. It was some minutes later when he finally managed to wriggle free, citing a need for clothes and a desire for civilization. Inari procured a child sized black kimono with violet cherry blossoms adorning its design, the colors matching his hair and eyes. Sandals followed, and Daichi was quickly dressed by the pair of girls flanking him.

"Sera, Gabby," Daichi directly addressed the two, both of which looked surprised at his nicknames. "Don't give me that look, you've both been visiting me for years." His attempt at an arrogant and nonchalant appearance was crippled by his childlike looks. He mentally sighed in defeat as the pair looked seconds away from assaulting him again. At least he wasn't a baby, or toddler. That would have been infuriating.

"Anyways," he pressed on, not giving the pair an opportunity to press their attack. "Dad," he turned to address Inari, his own look of surprise at his moniker. Daichi ignored it.

"I've had a lot of time to think over the past three years, so I've come up with a plan to continue growing in strength. I need a place to learn and train. My ancestral memories," a convenient excuse to mask knowledge he technically shouldn't possess, "mention things that I need to know. Senjutsu, Touki, Kasha, Youjutsu, I want to learn these. Once I'm ready, I'll be able to continue the hunt and gain more tails in confidence."

Inari looked on in silence for a moment, giving the pair of women an opportunity to start getting handsy with his ears.

"I have someone in mind who can help you achieve your goals, though I'll need you to elaborate on what you mean by _hunt_." The last word accompanied a scrutinizing gaze. While Yako weren't necessarily malicious, it still paid to be careful before unleashing one upon the world.

"Bounty hunting, I believe is the correct term. Over the years, my visitors have vented on occasion about stray devils and exorcists," he gestured to Sera and Gabriel in turn. "I'm assuming I can be rewarded for taking care of other's problems, and it gives me the opportunity to continue my ascent. I doubt they are the only ones with problems as well. Monsters, in their myriad forms, from all pantheons and factions, are available for me to hunt, pursue, and kill."

Inari nodded in acknowledgment. Well-reasoned, with a focus on curbing and unleashing the child's impulses on the detritus and scum of their world. Great Wisdom indeed, but he was right. He needed a mentor. Yasaka was available, though she had recently become pregnant. Should his first choice not pan out, she would be an excellent alternative. Perhaps growing up amongst a pair of Zenko, with one as a potential little sister, would be more beneficial than he had previously considered.

However, she was the kyuubi of the East, and had responsibilities that would keep her from investing herself into his teaching. Perhaps in a few years when her child was learning as well. They could learn Youjutsu and Kasha together, meaning if his teacher could teach Senjutsu and Touki, he would benefit. By the time little Daichi had mastered those, the new Yokai princess would be old enough to begin her education.

He might have to call in his favor with Odin, but perhaps once Freyja spotted little Daichi she would volunteer. As the Norse goddess of nature and war, she was a shoo-in choice to teach the art of Senjutsu. Touki would follow and could be honed among the warrior halls of Asgard. Whether he could learn their unique form of runic magic would be entirely up to him and his teacher.

Decision made, Inari broke his thoughtful atmosphere and readdressed his… son. That would take some getting used to. It had been millennia since he had directly spawned a new kitsune. His eyebrow twitched in barely suppressed amusement as the pair of women had somehow managed to splay him out between them, Serafall getting his tails with Gabriel caressing his head and ears.

"I'll be bringing you to Asgard. Odin owes me a favor, though Freyja may simply volunteer after she sees you." A twinkle of mischief could be seen as Inari watched his new progeny get pampered by the girls, a look of irked tolerance on his face.

"In a few years, when I've grown a bit, the two of you will be the ones subjected to _my_ ministrations." Daichi left the implications and double meanings hanging as he sprung from their surprised grasp. A look of victory was spread across his visage as he clutched Inari's robes.

"Sera, Gabby, I'll be sure to write and call you both. I'll miss you, but the next time we see each other I'll be very different. I'll have Dad give you my number once I have a phone." With those parting words and a mutual cry of denial, Inari and Daichi popped out of existence right as the women lunged for him. Both were left empty handed, with equally empty eyes as they shared a look of depression.

"He's going to come back a little monster." Sera muttered out. Gabriel nodded in agreement.

"We'll have to step up our training. We can't have our little fox getting a big head and surpassing us." It was Serafall's turn to nod.

"We have to be strong enough to keep all the bimbos he's inevitably going to have crawling after him away." She pouted as the pair held hands, looking into each other's eyes.

"Gabby! All those Norse sluts are going to taint our little Daichi! We can't let them!" Gabriel had a look of intense focus as the pair talked.

"Valkyries are all female, and that old pervert Odin is going to corrupt him. We can't let Freyja get a jump on us either!" The two nodded in mutual understanding.

"We'll declare war on the Norse!"

A pair of tiny fists bopped them both on the head as Daichi popped back into existence with a cell phone in hand.

"No declaring wars! I need training, it's only a few years! Behave yourselves!" Daichi stared at them imperiously, pointing at each woman in turn.

"The next time I see you, you both better be healthy, happy, and close to ascending. I'll have at least four tails by then, so keep up!" His little arrogant declarations were adorable, though the pair took his words to heart. Daichi leaned forward, planting a kiss on their cheeks.

"Don't worry, I'll have barely started puberty by the time I'm done in Asgard. Nobody will be able to 'taint' me, you weirdos. I'm a Yako anyway. It's my job to taint others." With a pointed look and a smirk at Gabriel, Daichi pulled out three pieces of paper, placing two in the hands of the still stunned silent women in front of him. With a small pulse of magic and a wave goodbye, the third lit up, whisking him away from the two once more.

A minute passed in silence, then two.

"That brat!" Serafall shouted out, tossing her hands in the air.

"I'll show him!" Gabriel struck a pose, fist shaking threateningly at the spot Daichi was previously standing.

"He called us weirdos!"

"He said he was going to taint others! I knew we shouldn't have let Odin and Azazel visit!"

The two shared a look.

""Damnit! I wanted his virginity!""

Daichi shuddered briefly as he trekked along the Bifrost, a premonition of doom hovering over him before he dismissed it. He had a Valkyrie to corrupt, and a Nordic goddess to claim. Odin and Freyja had been on the outs for a while because of the old man's perversion. As far as Daichi was concerned, she was the new world and he was Britain and Spain coming to claim and conquer. His Yako side would need to be exercised over the course of his studies after all.

Approaching the colossal palace, Daichi continuously took in his surroundings. He had to pass through the main thoroughfare of the city in order to reach the gates. His father told him he would be let in upon his arrival, but that there was no rush, as he had some business to discuss with Odin before Daichi arrived.

Several large buildings caught his eye as he passed through, most notably what appeared to be the halls of Valhalla in the distance. It was a bustling city, filled with men and women reminiscent of what he imagined a more modern society of Vikings would look like. He could see Valkyries swooping through the air, and the occasional Einherjar taking a trip away from Valhalla. Even the normal citizens were built strong and beautiful, though they were a mix of many different races and species.

It was much like any modern city to be found on Earth, or Midgard, depending on who you asked. Cafes lined the street alongside shops and markets. Taverns were spread in regular intervals along the thoroughfare, all packed to the brim despite the early nature of the day. Daichi took it all in as he continued making his way down the path. Half an hour later, he finally managed to push his way out of the last crowd standing before the palace gates. Walking up to the guards, he addressed the Valkyrie on the left, the Einherjar on the right eyeing him suspiciously.

"Hello Miss," he played to his apparent adorable current appearance. "My Dad told me to tell the nice lady at the front gate when I got here." He twitched his ears and flicked one of his tails as the other waved languidly. In conjunction with his innocent eyes, it nearly caused the poor woman to break down in cute overload. She bent over, exposing a good amount of cleavage despite her armor.

"Hello there, cutie, could you tell me who your dad is?" She was still a professional, despite nearly crumbling in his first assault.

"His name is Inari Okami. He said he was meeting with Mister Odin." Daichi continued playing with the poor woman. His Yako side was eating it up, basking in the possibilities for troublemaking. It was only years of discipline that kept his target from squealing in delight.

"Yes, you're correct, your dad is here. Would you like me to take you to him?" Daichi nodded in faux excitement.

"Yes, please!" He reached up with both arms, the universal sign for children asking to be carried. The Valkyrie never stood a chance, swooping down to scoop him up, placing him high on her waist as she turned to pass through the gates.

"I'll return shortly, Berg." She called out over her shoulder. The man simply shook his head and waved her off.

"Got it, Heska. I'll cover for you." Daichi gave him a shit eating grin over her shoulder, getting a thumbs up from the Einherjar in response.

Heska babbled constantly to the child in her arms, pointing out landmarks and important buildings as they crossed to the main palace. He acted appropriately awed, which wasn't entirely faked. Visiting the seat of power of a mythological pantheon was rather surreal for his human half after all.

Upon arrival, Heska carried him up to the room where the gods were meeting. Strolling through the door, she bowed as best she could with the burden on her waist.

"My lords and lady, I've brought the boy." Daichi took the opportunity to slip his hand beneath Heska's breastplate, using her substantial assets to prop himself up while tweaking her nipple. Heska's face blushed an incredible crimson as the young boy copped an 'unintentional' feel directly in front of her bosses.

"Hi, Dad. I made it!" Daichi's face was nearly splitting in glee as Odin grinned with a surreptitious nod of approval followed by a discreet thumbs up from his place at the head of the table. His Yako side was in hysterics while Inari simply sighed, shaking his head, fully aware of what was occurring. Freyja watched all of this with mild amusement, though her eyes still sparkled when she looked over Daichi's adorable appearance.

Giving the glorious flesh beneath his hand one last squeeze, flicking the now rather prominent nipple with his nail on his way out, Daichi pasted his innocent expression on his face as he was let down from Heska's hold. He turned and giving a slight bow.

"Thank you for escorting me, Miss Heska. I'll remember you and your kindness!" Heska simply nodded in response, not trusting her voice with her current level of embarrassment as she beat a hasty retreat. Daichi waved at her retreating form, then made his way to the front of the room.

"Hi! You must be Miss Freyja. It's nice to meet you!" Daichi struck a small formal bow as Freyja addressed him.

"Hello, cutie. You must be Daichi. How did you know about me?"

Daichi glanced at Inari and Odin.

"Well, my dad told me before we came to Asgard that I'd be learning Senjutsu from really pretty lady, so the first person I thought of was you. One time when Mister Odin visited me, he said you were the prettiest lady in Asgard, because your boobs were the biggest and best." Daichi kept his innocent child expression pasted on as Odin began waving his hands behind Freyja's back in a panic. Daichi could practically see the tic mark of irritation on Freyja's face as she slowly turned to Odin.

"N-now, Daichi, you can drop the act. There's no need to go this far, right?" Odin tried to defuse the situation. Daichi cocked his head, remaining a vision of childlike purity as Freyja glanced back at him.

"But that's what Mister Odin said when you came to see me with Mister Azazel. Mister Azazel seemed to disagree though. He said Gabriel's boobs were probably better and you nodded and said he had a point."

Bloodlust was palpable at this point as Freyja gripped Odin's skull with a single hand, lifting him up. With her other hand she ripped open a portal and an icy wind blew through the room.

"You dirty animal! Tainting this poor child's mind with talk of perverted fantasies! It appears you need to cool off for a bit!" And she hurled him through, the portal snapping closed and leaving the man trapped in Hel's frozen wastes. Dusting her hands off she turned back to her guests.

"Now that he's been temporarily taken care of, shall we get down to business?" A congenial smile graced her lips. Daichi nodded as if affirming something mentally.

"Dad, you were right. Miss Freyja is very pretty. It looks like you won't have to use that favor Mister Odin owed you either since he's not here anymore." Daichi stated as if the woman in front of him had not just ripped a hole in reality, and tossed the leader of the Norse pantheon through like a misbehaving child to be disciplined.

Freyja snorted.

"Smart kid, Inari. I'll train him. He's in good hands." She scooped him up and placed him on her lap where he promptly leaned back against massive soft clouds of bliss, ears twitching in enjoyment. Freyja started stroking his ears unconsciously.

"If he's fast, it'll take him three to four years to feel nature energy and gain a basic ability to manipulate it, and another two or three to master it in conjunction with Touki under my instruction." Freyja elaborated. Inari nodded.

"He's very intelligent. Probably more than is good for him currently, so that's likely accurate. He'll potentially have a mating season at least once towards the end of his stay here. The first one can be… enlightening and stressful." This comment was directed to the child in her arms. "You can either allow him to mate if you have a volunteer or lock him away for a week while he gets his impulses under control. I'll leave it to your discretion." Freyja nodded as Inari stood.

"Thank you, Freyja. Regardless of everything else, I appreciate this."

"It's no problem at all. I'm looking forward to spending time with Daichi." She graced the fox god with a genuine smile. Soon after, Inari popped out of existence and Freyja turned her smile on the boy in her lap.


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"Alright you little brat, you can drop the act. I know you're more mature than you've been leading everyone to believe. Inari filled me in before you arrived." Daichi nodded quietly as she stood, rotating him to her hip and made her way to her section of the palace grounds. He knew when the time for mischief had passed. Freyja's domain in the palace held her living quarters along with those of her retainers. It was also located directly adjacent to the Valkyrie training school, of which Freyja reigned as headmistress.

"You'll be living with me for most of your stay here." She began, making her way down to the main palace entrance. "Your schedule will consist of meditation in the early mornings within the grove of Barri to attune yourself to nature's energy. After dawn, you'll join the Valkyrie hopefuls in combat drills for the remainder of the morning." The pair passed through the grand doorway.

"Following lunch, you'll spend the rest of your day with a mix of traditional mortal schooling and runic magic. Once you've successfully attuned to nature, the meditation will transition to manipulation and control exercises, with the study of Touki during your combat practice." Daichi nodded in acknowledgment.

"You'll be waking up at six every morning and running to the grove. It's located just over there." She pointed off to the left to a wooded area on the far end of the walls behind the palace. "In the middle of the copse is a space with an altar. It is a sacred place for us and will help you attune at a faster rate. You understand so far?" Daichi nodded

"Yes, ma'am." Freyja nodded this time.

"Good, I appreciate a respectful man."

The pair finally reached her home and she set him down, holding his hand as they walked through the doors of the mansion. A maid immediately came forward to attend to her mistress.

"Veski, this is Daichi. He will be living with me from now on and attending school beginning tomorrow. Could you please see to his uniforms? He will need several sets of clothes as well. Undergarments, casual, activity, and formal." Veski bowed and immediately went to work.

"Yes, mistress. I will have them delivered to his room before the end of the day."

"Ah, Veski, have them delivered to my room." Freyja corrected as the maid turned to depart.

"I need to be able to keep an eye on our resident Yako, after all." A glimmer of mirth and mischief swirled within the goddess' eyes as Daichi looked on mortified as his potential nighttime freedom disappeared.

"Don't worry, little Daichi. I assure you, living with me will have more pros than cons." A giggle disguised a malicious chuckle as her eyes twinkled.

Daichi knew he had come too far at this point to back out, plus she would inevitably catch him if he tried to run. The night may be restricted for now, but there would surely be periods he had to himself. Sexual deviancy and violence were both off the table, so mischief and pranks would have to be his staple to keep his Yako impulses in line.

Freyja led him up a staircase to the landing of the second floor, down a hallway, they took two turns at the end of each corridor, passing a few doors which Freyja pointed out before finally making it to the back of the house. They passed, in order, her personal study attached to the landing, an access to her personal library, and a guest bathroom across from a guest bedroom. A single door was placed at the center of the last hall which led to the goddess' personal quarters. She unlocked the door, leading him inside by the hand and locking the door behind them as he shed his sandals by the entrance.

The room was tastefully decorated, a living or receiving area with an appropriately arrayed seating arrangement surrounding a massive television spread across the right wall. A coffee table sat perched between the seats and couches, the entertainment system set within. A small attached kitchen at the back left corner of the room told Daichi she was unafraid of cooking her own meals despite having staff available to do it for her, an independent woman through and through. She was the queen of the Vanir after all, having sacrificed herself for peace with the Aesir. It made sense that a woman of her caliber knew more than just her mortally designated domains.

Two doors led off to opposite sides, the one on the right leading to what appeared to be a practice room while the one on the left opened into her bedroom. Another tastefully decorated area, Freyja apparently enjoyed the lighter shades of green mixed with darker accents. The bed was massive and covered in soft pillows and bedding. Daichi nodded in appreciation, Freyja smirking at his response as she tugged him towards the bathroom. The door opened into what Daichi could only describe as a personal spa. The bathtub was practically a small pool and the glass encased shower held enough space for six to eight people comfortably. Heated stone tile kept his bare feet comfortable as he gaped at the room.

"A woman after my own heart…" Daichi muttered under his breath. Freyja smirked, hearing his words regardless.

"We'll get you cleaned up first. Once Veski returns with your new outfits I'll take you over to the academy to introduce you to the staff. You'll start tomorrow." Daichi nodded in response, Freyja tugging him out of his kimono with little effort and no resistance. He was soon after treated to a buffet of flesh as she stripped herself. Truly, the universe of unnaturally perky boobs. He was completely unsure if he was actually in heaven or not at the moment.

They were glorious, a set of perfectly proportioned double E tits, her pink nipples and areola roughly the size of a silver dollar. They slumped only slightly as they dropped, released from the confines of her clothing. Her frontal assets were only the beginning. Freyja was a goddess after all, her face already holding an almost unnatural beauty and symmetry. Scanning further below, a tight body with no stretch marks showed an eternity of fitness and perhaps a bit of magic. Wide hips attached to a gloriously toned ass bounced as she stepped towards the bathtub and began filling it. Bending over to turn the knobs, Daichi was given a perfect view of all of her lower assets, her ass a defined curve, followed by her lower lips. She had a beautiful pussy, lightly puffy vulva surrounding a light pink slit. Not that there was anything wrong with curtains, he just found an internally assorted package much more pleasing to the eye. Following further down gave a view of legs that went on for days, toned to perfect proportion and ending in dainty feet that looked well taken care of. She was a vision of perfection, the ideal woman to be paired to the head of a pantheon.

"Odin is a damn fool," was the only thing Daichi could think or say in the moment beyond basking in the beauty that was Freyja Njordrsdottir. A laugh that was equal parts pleasant pleased song and dark sardonic pain rang out as she stood.

"If only he felt that way." It was a bitter comment. One that Daichi instantly hated with the accompanying sad smile. Daichi hummed with a frown, gesturing for her to sit on the edge of the bath as he crawled into her lap. The nudity was a bit strange, but the lack of hormones and currently obvious age difference made it easier to deal with as he straddled her lap and wrapped his arms and tails around her, pressing his face into her cleavage and telling her his feelings directly.

"I hate that look. A woman like you should never look so sad or in pain." Taking advantage of his current features, he cuddled into her, her hands going to his ears and tails almost unconsciously as she began to pet him. Giving her an additional squeeze, he looked up to see her smiling down on him pleasantly, so giving a nod, he popped back into his fox form and curled up on her lap as they waited in silence for the tub to be filled. She would be his. He would unapologetically steal her away from that old one eyed pervert. No woman should ever look so distraught.

An hour later of bubbles, laughter, and cleanliness, the two sat within her living area both still wrapped in towels as Freyja busied herself about the kitchen preparing lunch for the both of them. It was to be his first cooked and prepared meal of this life and he was practically drooling, for a few different reasons, as he watched the goddess prepare a spread of pan seared chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and green beans. He had originally told her he was fine with sandwiches, but when she realized he had yet to eat a home cooked meal, had taken it upon herself to fix something healthy yet tasty regardless of culture or taste buds.

Mid way through the pair munching away, Veski returned with his new wardrobe in tow. A light knocking at the door and a wave of Freyja's hand had the goddess' head maid bustling into the room with several bags, directly heading within Freyja's room to deposit and sort the clothing into a preordained area of Freyja's massive closet. Some spatial enchantment shenanigans had to have been at play, because there was no way the bathroom or closet should have been as big as they were.

She was gone nearly as quickly as she had come, a true model of servant efficiency. She was also the only attendant Daichi had even seen since entering Freyja's home, which was odd since he could _smell_ the other women. He knew they existed, and even the fact that they were around and within the mansion doing their duties, but had neither seen nor heard hide or hair of a single one other than Veski. He wasn't sure whether to be creeped out or impressed.

The two polished off their food in companionable silence, Daichi only breaking it to thank his host and complement her on her ability in wielding implements other than those related to death. The food had truly been delicious, and Daichi once more couldn't help but wonder if Odin had some sort of mental deficiency. Regardless of the Nordic leader's sanity, Daichi's day continued per schedule.

After dressing, Freyja in her professional attire and Daichi in one of his school uniforms, Freyja led Daichi by hand next door to the Valkyrie academy grounds. As it was afternoon, all students could be found in their classrooms, so Freyja took the time to introduce him to the available staff. He met the combat and runic magic instructors for each year, being specifically introduced to the woman in charge of first year students as he would be joining them the next morning.

Misses Nevarre was what he imagined a gender swapped drill sergeant in the mortal militaries would have looked like. Muscular, yet feminine, with enough resting bitch face to share across three other women. If he was actually a kid, he'd probably be intimidated, but he wasn't, and his Yako instincts instantly pegged her as a prime target for pranks. The introductions were short and to the point, Nevarre's gruff exterior as cliché as Daichi could have imagined as the pair equally evaluated the other.

After the initial meet and greet, Freyja took him along to do an initial class introduction in preparation for the next day. The idea was to only have a brief interruption in the student's education, and insert Daichi as seamlessly as possible the following day. Daichi thought she was delusional in her hopes and told her as much as they made their way down the halls towards what would be his homeroom class.

"Every single girl in this building will be whispering and gossiping about the new _foxkin animal boy_ attending their school before the end of the next class and for the rest of the day. Not only am I currently ridiculously cute," he mentally added, _'Objectively, data states it as such. It's not narcissism if it's true.'_ "I'm also the only male attending. My presence for the first week or two will, simply by existing, be a distraction." Freyja hummed in acknowledgement.

"True. Regardless, introductions would best be taken care of in a classroom setting instead of on the practice field tomorrow morning."

Daichi conceded the point. He planned to test out of all the traditional mortal content anyway and blame his ancestral memories for the knowledge. It was technically true if he considered his previous life as an ancestor. Something, something, reincarnation, something, cycle of the soul, Hindu voodoo, something. If he believed it enough, he could make it true. The mind was a fascinating system. The extra few hours he would have been spending in classes would instead be spent on something more productive. Like learning runic magic. Or becoming more powerful. Or pranks.

Priorities.

_Headmistress_ Freyja knocked on the door to class 1-A, opening the door inward after a moment while Daichi followed her through. He surveyed the children in front of him as he stood at the front of the classroom. They were all adorable little girls around kindergarten or first grade ages, sitting perched attentively at their oversized desks, feet dangling off the ground as their headmistress introduced him.

"Hello, Misses Keshka, young trainees. Apologies for interrupting, but I've come to introduce a new student with me who will be joining your class tomorrow." At her gesture Daichi stepped forward and gave a slight bow.

"Hello. My name is Daichi. I'm technically only three, but as a spirit, my mind and physical form are a little different than most, so I'm practically six. It's nice to meet everyone. I look forward to being friends." _'Pffffft. Yea right. I'll be outta here in a couple weeks, squirts.'_ He let his right ear twitch and flick as his tails waved hypnotically behind him, the girls breaking out into whispers and giggles. Freyja stepped forward to readdress the room.

"That'll be all for now. Tomorrow, please make sure to make Daichi feel welcome."

With that final statement, Freyja turned and strolled out of the room, Daichi on her heels, his tails never stopping their slow, hypnotic fluctuations.

**A/N:**

I really appreciate the positive reception everyone has given this fic so far, so _thank you!_ It is by far my most popular one.

If anyone was wondering, Rias bust is B99, which is also Double E cup size for comparison.

A hopefully brief comment for one of our Guest reviewers:

All of Rias' peerage are broken. They have bullshit abilities and heritages that give them disgusting advantages. Don't get me wrong, Daichi will be incredibly powerful. I titled it Unique for a reason, but I also don't want him to be slaying gods at age three (even if he looks five or six at the moment). He has his own things that make him special, but any other non-protagonist in the series spent _years_ at a minimum getting to their current level of power.

As a small glimpse into the future for this, I'm definitely going to be making this story AU beyond Daichi's influence to canon. The power scaling of the characters was one of the things that made little to no sense to me, so I'll also be toning down the canon character's power leaps to spread the story out a bit more. Devils live at least ten thousand years, having them slay gods even with their advantages within a single one doesn't vibe well for me.

I won't be revealing any other details if I can help it. That tends to ruin a story if the author gives away a bunch of details and plans outside of the story itself, so you'll all be forced to continue reading if you want to see the direction I take it.

Again, thank you all for the support so far, I really appreciate the positive response.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Freyja took a few additional minutes to escort Daichi around the campus, pointing out the combat arena, exercise fields, cafeteria, locker rooms and dorms, of which there were notably no male additions. There were thankfully some male bathrooms, as they did have a few einherjar on staff as training coaches, so Daichi would be using those as a makeshift changing room when he was old enough to warrant it.

At his current age and size, the girls would just think he was adorable, so he could probably get away with changing with them for a few more years. Classes all changed together as combat and exercise were held concurrently among all years to encourage comradery and familiarity even before they graduated and were placed in the field. Hell, if they were all normalized to it, he might even be able to get away with it when he was older as well. He would be pushing somewhere around twelve to fourteen in his appearance towards the end of his time in Asgard, so it would be about that age where the difference between genders really began to show, and the hormones were active enough to make them conscious of those changes.

After the tour, Freyja took him back to her home to continue getting him situated and comfortable. Taking some time, they put their heads together to come up with a list of necessities for his continued stay. It was predominantly toiletries, toothbrush, toothpaste, he didn't need deodorant, his natural scent as a magical entity being far more muted and pleasant, a brush for his hair and fur, some more masculine bathing soaps, though with more muted scents due to his enhanced olfactory abilities. Clothing and footwear had already been taken care of, but when asked if he had any additional needs or desires, he did ask if it was possible to acquire one of the mortal gaming systems for extracurricular entertainment.

He convinced her of the need after making the case for a way to relax or entertain any friends he may make, which was, for the most part, surprisingly true. With his current schedule, Daichi had no illusions that he would have much time to invest in frivolities. Having access to Freyja's personal library was also a consideration, since most of the downtime he did have would likely be spent either establishing pranks or within that sacred, silent space, so it really was primarily destined to be a rare outlet for stress or guest entertainment.

The rest of the day reflected that mentality, his time spent with book in hand, lounging on one of the couches in her study as Freyja handled some paperwork for both Asgard and the academy. He was attempting to get an extra step head start on attuning to nature, the book in question holding a compilation of multiple first person accounts of the process. They were all remarkably similar, and held several unilateral consistencies.

Barring the Nekoshou who were unnaturally gifted in the art of Senjutsu, all other accounts stated the same thing – the process took time, but the end result more than justified the expense. Attuning to nature was a practice in embracing the world in all its light and darkness. Joining in concert to Mother Nature was a raw, unfiltered experience, entirely about finding your place in _her_ flow and hierarchy, and then leveraging that position.

The energy utilized by Senjutsu practitioners was the magic of an entire world, in all of its aspects. Just as a clear, spectacular sunrise, the birth of a new puppy, or the fresh morning dew perched on waving grass could be beautiful; the darkness of a lion devouring the antelope, the snake swallowing a bird's eggs whole, the instant incineration of thousands were equally represented. Just as there were two sides to Mother Nature, there were two sides to Senjutsu, and only one could be leveraged safely if the desire to retain one's sanity was a high priority.

The entirety of the process of attuning could ultimately be simplified down to a percentage sync progression bar common in mortal media. Sometimes, syncing went quickly, and other times it seemed to drag on, but nothing could be done until fully synced. It was a gross oversimplification of the process, but wasn't entirely without merit either. Daichi's first step would be self-reflection. Being in tune with the self was a mandatory requirement before even considering being in tune with an external wavelength. If a person couldn't balance their own inner self, then how would they be able to handle an outside source?

Daichi stopped at this point, a yawn escaping him as he blinked a few times, looking around the study to get his bearings. Freyja glanced up at him, before glancing at the clock on the wall.

"Thank you for reminding me, it's almost ten o'clock. Time for bed, for both of us. We have to be up early tomorrow." Daichi nabbed a bookmark from her desk as he crawled up into her lap, marking his place and setting the book down as he settled his head into her chest.

"Little pervert," she commented while putting the finishing signatures on the documents she had been working on. Daichi yawned in response. Damnable child body.

"No hormones. Can't be a pervert yet. I just know how to appreciate excellent artwork," he muttered out, clinging to her front as she stood, Freyja supporting him with a smile despite her lighthearted comment.

"I suppose that's fair. I wouldn't let a filthy pervert sleep in the same bed with me after all." Daichi rubbed his face against the heavenly pillows supporting his head.

"Good thing I'm just an adorable child." Freyja began scratching behind one of his ears, rolling her eyes at his antics.

"Yes, how lucky for you."

"I know, right?"

The pair broke out into shared chuckles. Another yawn escaped Daichi as Freyja set him down on her bed. _Their_ _bed._ Ah, hello Yako instinct, you've been awfully quiet. Freyja stripped him down to his underwear before doing the same for herself.

"In a few years you'll be looking back on me dressing you for bed with such embarrassment, it'll be delightful." Freyja grinned down at him as the pair crawled into the nest of pillows and Daichi cuddled up to her once more.

"Nah," he denied. "This is just a preview for what it'll look like when I finally come to claim you for myself, and what it'll look like every night afterward." It was dark in the room, but his enhanced eyesight still caught the telltale hint of a blush dusting _his_ goddess' cheeks. His Yako side was practically purring in approval with his declaration.

"You have a _long_ way to go to before you can start collecting goddesses, little fox," Freyja chastised, feeling a small bit of irritation at her own reaction. He was still a child, she shouldn't be blushing like a maiden, no matter how long it had been since she last felt appreciated. Daichi hummed, his eyes drifting shut as his tired mind voiced grandiose inner thoughts.

"I don't want to collect goddesses," he murmured. "I want to collect outstanding women… and give them the world." He fell asleep to Freyja's gentle fingers stroking his ears, a small smile on her lips.

"Silly fox, work hard and maybe one day your dream will be reality." She followed him to the abyss, arms clutching him close to her chest.

* * *

The next morning the pair woke at five as they would every weekday for the next six years. Daichi was quickly dressed in his athletic attire, fed a light breakfast, and ushered out the door by a smiling, doting Freyja. Taking off at a jog, Daichi worked up a light sweat by the time he had crossed the distance to the edge of the Grove. A small path was cut between the trees, winding its way deeper within.

Daichi's first step beneath the canopy was disconcerting. There was enough space for what little early morning light was available to slip through the gaps between trees, keeping the path and surroundings barely illuminated even with his superior senses. The atmosphere was a secondary detail however, the more prevalent concern was the complete lack of sound from within or without the tree line. After suppressing a shiver, Daichi continued making his way down the path.

It was a short walk, the trail mostly clear of brush or low hanging branches. He arrived at the center of the grove, the trail spitting him out into a small clearing. The altar was such a simple affair, an unadorned white stone raised platform placed in the center of the area. For a sacred place where two gods consummated their union, it was remarkably plain at first sight. What made it utterly unique was what Daichi could only consider an immense… presence, which hung in the air. Almost like a predator, beautiful and deadly but currently docile, as if it was lounging in the sun taking a nap.

Doing as Freyja instructed, Daichi made his way to the foot of the altar. Nobody was around, so if somebody said he crept through the clearing with his tails tucked between his legs and his ears pinned back to his head, he'd safely be able to deny every accusation with a straight face. His careful steps finally placed him in front of the stone bed where he sank to a comfortable meditative position.

As he began to take deep, quiet breaths, he attempted to quiet his mind. One minute, five, ten, he sat in silence. It was only after fifteen minutes that he finally manage to sink into a shallow trance, the intense peace of his surroundings finally lulling him into relaxing.

It was a subtle sensation, one his subconscious barely registered. An hour passed, Daichi only realizing the change in both himself and the surroundings when his conscious mind returned to the present. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what had changed beyond the fact he felt a bit more energized and the lurking presence he had felt earlier had disappeared.

With a sigh, Daichi stood and dusted his athletic shorts off. With one last glance at the altar, he turned and made his way back out of the wooded area, breaking out into a jog once he crossed the tree line as he headed towards the academy.

The majority of the Valkyries in training, all of them across every year, were already lined up on the fields. They were arrayed in groups surrounding a platform holding a few of the instructors, Instructor Navarre being the only notable member in Daichi's mind. As he caught his breath, Navarre spotted him walking on the field and called him up. Hopping up to the platform, the murmuring of the crowd of students briefly picked up before quickly tapering off as the instructor stepped forward to address them all.

"Good morning! As most of you have no doubt heard, we have a new addition to our school." Placing her hand on his head she continued. "This is Daichi, he'll be learning with us from now on." She looked down to address him personally. "Go join the rest of your class," she gestured off to a section of students in her direction. Turning back to the crowd she raised her voice again. "We're starting warmups in five! Be prepared!"

Daichi dropped off the side of the platform and made his way over to his group. The introduction to his class yesterday now being completely pointless. Regardless, he was already warm from all the jogging around he'd done, but he would still need to join in the activity since they would all be splitting off into age groups for the practice portion. He settled into the back of the class, content to wait and see.

**A/N:**

Shoutout to Silver1997 for catching a mistake in an earlier chapter. Thank you, I went and corrected it to hopefully show the scene transition better.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Due to their age, most of the physical exercise performed by those younger than fifteen were dominated by cardio, flexibility, and body weight calisthenics. It functioned as more of an organized PE class than a militaristic or combat oriented training session, though a period of time was dedicated to the basic martial forms all Valkyries learned. All told, Daichi found he didn't dislike the activity, and while Navarre was strict, she was very fair and held realistic expectations for each class and individual. However that wasn't going to save her from him.

By far, the highlight of the morning for Daichi was showering and changing for their traditional education classes. Due to his adorable appearance and perceived purity as a child, all of the older girls, primarily the juniors and seniors of the secondary academy level, instantly adopted him, stealing him away to groom and dress him. His two tails were weaving and waving nonstop in pleasure as a buffet of nude flesh on the cusp of adulthood pampered his hair, ears, and tails. The rest of his body was washed as well, but those three areas received extra special attention from all present. The upperclassmen lecturing their underclassmen about seniority, and how they would 'have their turn next year to responsibly help their mascot represent the face of their academy', had his ears twitching in delight. He hadn't even needed to do anything but look cute to set up such a nice arrangement.

While his morning had him in an excellent mood, the actual educational periods left much to be desired. He was, in a word, bored. Dreadfully, terribly, unbelievably bored. Within the first five minutes of class his eyes had glazed over and he mentally checked out, hitting a zen meditation state completely unintentionally as his mind blanked. He was in the equivalent of a first grade class with the knowledge of a graduate level education rotting within his mind. He had originally thought to wait a couple weeks to let everything settle into a routine and get a feel for the dynamics of the school, but at this rate he felt he'd be lucky to last to the end of the day.

When the class _finally_ finished, Daichi sped off to hopefully find Freyja. Dynamics were for plebeians. He was a Yako, he made the dynamics. He almost exploded through the door in his haste, but caught himself. That would be rude, and Freyja deserved respect, so he knocked and waited patiently. Or at least he tried, his ears and tails flicking back and forth in random directions with agitation while he bounced in place. It was only a few seconds later that he was finally called to enter.

"Oh, hello little fox. I didn't expect to see you until the end of the day but this actually works out well."

Daichi cocked his head to the side at her comment, her eyes still scanning through a document slightly raised from her desk. She took a moment to finish, then applied her signature and looked up to meet his eyes.

"So, before we get sidetracked, what has you in such an excitable state?"

Daichi finally noticed his still twitching extremities and made a conscious effort to stop their movements while driving straight to the point.

"I want to test out of academics."

Freyja blinked once with a nonplussed stare as she processed his statement.

"You… want to… test out?"

Daichi nodded.

"I'm pretty sure I lost brain cells forcing myself to sit through those classes. I can't waste my time staring off into space for hours to pretend like I'm a normal kid. I could probably qualify for a mortal's advanced education degree with all the raw data I have sitting up here." He tapped his temple a couple times in emphasis. Freyja remained silent for a few more moments, then sighed and massaged her forehead.

"Okay. We'll have you start the exams tomorrow. You'll have to take the exams for each year sequentially. No matter whether you can skip to the end or not, we have to have the paperwork and exams on file." Daichi simply shrugged in acceptance. Spending a day doing _something,_ however trivial or tedious, was leagues better than becoming a braindead zombie for hours.

"Alright, with that taken care of I have something I want to discuss with you. You're missing the foundational knowledge necessary for Nordic Runic magic. Most Asgardian children, but especially aspiring Valkyries, begin learning the basics of our runic system from the time they can talk." Daichi saw where she was headed and decided to cut to the chase.

"So you want to assign a tutor to me in order to catch me up before releasing me into the world of dangerous magical explodey things."

Freyja chuckled.

"Yes. Exactly." She stood up, walking towards the door. "Follow me, we'll go introduce you to the girl I've picked out for you." Daichi shot her a suspicious glance at her wording, but only a twinkle in the goddess' eye gave anything away.

Daichi followed along a pace behind the woman, her own stroll leisurely enough for him to keep up with little effort. In a far corner of the academy they finally stopped in front of what looked to be an unused practice room. Cracking the door, Freyja gestured for him to take a peek into the room.

Its sole occupant stood in the middle of the area, all of the tools, dummies, targets, and other things having been pushed to the corners out of the way. The pair watched through the door as the girl, no more than ten or eleven, took to drawing runes through the air. Rapidly scrawling the magic, her runic letters, symbols, and design of the casting floated about the girl. Two concentric circles were suspended before her as the drawings began funneling towards the construct, the components snapping into place.

The finished product was equal parts artistic masterpiece and magically engineered marvel, the concurrently casted spells layering their effects multiplicatively, producing a shield that had Daichi's hair and fur standing on end from the magical presence it was emitting. The girl held it for several seconds, sweat beginning to run down her face before a sound like a gunshot echoed out and the shield shattered, the girl falling to her knees while gasping for air.

Freyja took this time to fully open the door, strolling in with the clicking of her heels announcing their presence. Daichi followed, stroking his fingers through his ear and tail fur to smooth out the fluffed hair. The two waited for the girl to get her bearings and catch her breath, though she only left them standing there for a few short seconds, quickly standing and bowing while attempting to slow her breaths.

"Headmistress, to what do I owe this honor?" Her face was expressionless, eyes unfeeling as Daichi observed her. Walking a circle around the girl, he looked her over from head to toe.

"Freyja, why does one of your students look and act like a doll? She's very pretty, and obviously incredibly talented, that shield was amazing, but it's like there's no life in her."

Freyja frowned at him.

"Daichi, mind your manners. That was rude."

He simply puffed his cheeks out, pouting slightly like the child he was.

"I'm just calling it how I see it, my goddess. No kid should look so burdened."

Freyja sighed and rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers, the girl in question watching the byplay in front of her in stoic silence.

"Daichi, this is Rossweisse. She's the best student at the academy with Nordic Runes. Rossweisse, I'm sure you've heard of Daichi by now. I'd like to ask you to tutor him in our magic system. He's brand new, and I don't have anyone else I feel I can trust with this task." Rossweisse glanced between the two, taking a moment to survey Daichi, her eyes tracking subconsciously to his ears and tails while Daichi smirked. After a few quiet seconds, Rossweisse nodded in acceptance.

"Yes, Headmistress. I understand. I will teach him." Freyja nodded with a satisfied expression.

"Excellent. Thank you, I'll be sure to excuse you from your class. I know you're already more than competent enough to pass the senior exams, so consider this an equivalent graduate project." Rossweisse nodded in acceptance.

"Yes, Headmistress." This time Freyja simply sighed in response, shooting Daichi a glance that said more than all the words exchanged within the room combined. He simply winked with a smile in response, his left tail tip flicking back and forth.

"In that case, I'll leave the two of you to it. You'll be meeting here from now on during normal class times." Rossweisse gave a bow to Freyja's retreating back, Daichi giving a lazy wave.

"See ya at home, Freyja." She closed the door behind her with no response, though Daichi could have sworn he saw an eye roll accompanying a small smile as she turned away. Daichi turned back to Rossweisse, a bit intrigued to finally be meeting one of the main cast. She was about as much as he expected from her backstory, though her teaching competence at age ten would remain to be seen.

"So, what's first, Little Rose?" Her eyes snapped up to him from the ground.

"Don't call me that."

Daichi cocked his head to the side.

"Why not? You look like a white rose, though I'm still deciding on whether or not you have thorns."

Rossweisse stared at him for a couple of beats, her cheeks slowly flushing a light pink.

"Oh? It looks like the doll does have emotion. You're much prettier now that you don't look so cold, I bet your smile is beautiful." The little girl's eyes seemed to be burning holes in the floor, her cheeks flushing further, though from anger, embarrassment, or shyness, Daichi wasn't entirely sure. Not giving her a chance to make up her mind, he continued on.

"Alright, Little Rose," Daichi stroked her cheek with the tip of one of his tails, startling her from what was likely a miniature internal panic attack. "Where do we start? I'm excited to learn magic." His comment seemed to refocus her on the task at hand. Going over to the whiteboard at the front of the room, she took one of the markers and scrawled out what Daichi interpreted as the Nordic Runic alphabet.

"Copy these repeatedly until they're perfect." Pulling out a stack of paper, she placed it on one of the desks around the edge of the room, handing him a pen as well. "They have to be perfect, or the runes will explode from magical feedback." Daichi nodded along in acceptance. "Once you have the alphabet calligraphy correct, I'll teach you the meanings of each letter, followed by syntax. After that, you'll be ready to try your first rune." Humming lightly to himself, Daichi sat at the desk, resigning himself to old fashion study. Devil magic was cheating bullshit. Every other system required study and practice while they got away with _imagination_.

It was a shame he had no intention of ever becoming a devil. He would live forever simply by staying alive long enough to ascend, which vastly outdid the measly ten thousand years Devils could reach, plus he'd be free from whatever influence he'd have to subject himself to if he was reincarnated. Nothing was worth the price of his freedom, no matter how bullshit or convenient.

Setting the extra paper to the side, Daichi began studiously attempting to perfectly recreate the symbols before him. Rossweisse observed his careful script for a while, occasionally making comments on mistakes or improvements. After reaching a satisfactory level for each letter, she left him to continue practicing while she went back to her own studies of advanced spell layering. It was a boring few hours, but Daichi was an old hat with prolonged study sessions. College developed skills that lasted longer than one lifetime so it seemed, though it was made less boring by the girl sitting next to him petting his tails while reading her textbook.

It was universal. Even doll-like, cold girls couldn't resist his charm. Soon, he would break this lonely, sad girl out of her shell, and help her blossom into the powerhouse she had the potential to become. He would teach her just as she was teaching him. Lessons that family expectations were not so mandatory, not that it would be too difficult since her own family was very supportive. Add on that teasing and bullies could be dealt with in nonviolent, amusing ways, and she would be his little mastermind.

Yes… Daichi could already envision his Little Rose's genius orchestrating pranks from the shadows. He definitely wasn't maliciously chuckling. That would scare the poor girl, but a sinister grin was absolutely fair game.

**A/N:**

Fun Fact Corner:

Rossweisse's grandmother, Gondul, is from actual myth. She was one of the major named Valkyries.

The Grove of Barri is also a place from Nordic myth, the description I put in regarding the location is accurate to the place's story.

I picked Freyja as Daichi's mentor because her domains contain nature, as well as love, fertility, and attraction, which meshed really well with the needs for a Senjutsu teacher that can handle the Yako mischievous nature.

I'll try and make this a regular thing for interesting tidbits I pick up from research from both the original story and mythology.

Thank you all for the continued support! I really appreciate it!


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

The first opportunity to begin endearing Rossweisse to him was sent almost like divine providence. As they were cleaning and putting the room back to order at the end of the day, four slightly older girls came bustling and giggling through the door. What he assumed was the ringleader was the one to step forward and talk, dismissively ignoring Rossweisse out of hand.

"Little Fox! How would you like to come play some games with your big sisters?"

Daichi was already internally twisting those words into something completely different. Dirty interpretations of playing games instantly sprung to mind… if only they were all several years older. Reluctantly letting go of opportunities, Daichi addressed the group.

"I don't mind, but I need to help Rossweisse finish cleaning the room we used first."

The girls exchanged glances and a few quick glares passed over to the girl in question.

"I'm sure she can handle it by herself. Can't you, Rossy?" The threatening undertone was subtle, but still present behind the saccharine phrasing of the question.

"Please don't call me that. You can go, its fine." Rossweisse turned away from both the group and Daichi and pretended to make herself busy. The young leader had a victorious grin spread across her face as she began to gesture for Daichi.

"That wouldn't be fair to you, Rossweisse. I used the room too, so it's my responsibility to help." The leader's smile fell slightly. "If you'll tell me what room, I'll meet you there after we finish." The now slightly strained smile seemed to finally accept his words.

"Okay, we'll be in the music room. See you in a few minutes!" The group turned and left as one while Daichi made himself busy once more.

"You didn't have to stay." Rossweisse finally spoke. Daichi shrugged in response.

"I wanted to. I don't actually want to go play games with them. I'd rather sit in here and read with you until Freyja comes to get me, but I could tell they'd cause you trouble if I told them no, and I'm not yet ready to begin my campaign of terror." His last words caused her to look up in confusion.

"Campaign of terror?" Her confused tone was adorable. Daichi nodded in enthusiasm.

"Yep! I'm planning out pranks to play on the school! Since it's only my first day, I've only been acquiring priority targets. I didn't intend to start my plans for the first two weeks so I could endear myself to the teachers and find the best places to set traps and hide." Daichi put on a look of contemplation. "I could start early though. I hate bullies, so dumping some mild itching powder in their panties while in the locker room could work as a quickly improvised hit." Rossweisse looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. _Phrasing._ His Yako side snerked.

"That's mean, why would you do that?"

Daichi peered at her as if he was just as confused.

"They were mean first. Mean to you, my first friend here. Plus, that's not mean. That's slightly inconvenient for them. If I wanted to be mean, I'd coat them in Icy Hot." His Little Rose actually shuddered in discomfort at that thought before the full sentence caught up to her.

"First friend? We're friends?"

Daichi looked at her like she was dumb.

"Of course, we are. You're helping me, and you're the first person to actually try to talk to me instead of only fondling my ears or tails. The rest of them only want me for my body." He gave an overly melodramatic sigh, pretending to wipe tears from the corner of his eye. A glance and a smirk drew the first emotion he'd seen from his little Rose that day, a small smile rose slightly on her lips.

"You're weird."

"Maybe, Little Rose. I'm me. Now, let's finish up so those brats aren't even more annoying later."

* * *

"One dried rose, strip the bud, pull the hip. A little bit of slice, a little bit of dice. Water voodoo magic. Smoosh, smoosh, smoosh, scrape, voila!" Daichi held up a tiny baggy of fine white powder. He hummed to himself in thought.

"This… looks really bad." He stared at the packet a moment longer, then shrugged. As long as the adults didn't see it, it'd probably be fine. Rossweisse simply looking on with a strange expression of confusion.

"What?"

"What?" Daichi mirrored her. She pouted.

She'd become remarkably more expressive over the couple hours they'd been playing together after he fulfilled his social mascot obligations. Once she realized he legitimately wanted to be her friend, she opened up considerably. He'd basically kidnapped her with Freyja's consent and dragged her off to a corner of the goddess' personal gardens. A single rose, a small plastic baggy, a knife, a spoon, a mortar and pestle, almost all of which was acquired from the kitchen. Put together with a bit of his Rose's magic later, along with a careful hand, Daichi had a small amount of relatively harmless itching powder.

"It's not voodoo magic. All I did was use a low powered paired rune of water combined with remove, and then another one for heat. You'll be able to do something similar in a couple weeks."

Daichi sighed in bliss. Magic made pranks so convenient. This little bit of preparation should have taken hours, if not a couple days depending on the sunlight and heat, but only ended up taking about thirty minutes instead. He could barely wait until he was able to begin. Even the simplest of runes had any number of possible uses.

It had taken a little convincing to get Rossweisse on board, but once he assured her it would only be slightly inconvenient for the girls, she had been more enthusiastic about getting a little payback for her mistreatment at their hands. Despite saying about sticks and stones, words do indeed hurt. One Google search later and he had the process for a simple powder. Magic was incredible, but so was the internet.

"Just like what you did wasn't voodoo magic, what I just did was equally as simple. This little bit of plain looking powder will have their butts itching for around half an hour during morning class." Daichi gave off an unintentional mischievous chuckle thinking of the bullies squirming uncomfortably in their seats. Rossweisse gave a small smile while watching him dork out over the results of their project. The pair made a few more plans to make sure she had an alibi for the morning, then she had to leave, her grandmother coming to pick her up.

The next morning, Daichi followed the same course as his first day. It was a quick run to the grove, followed by retracing the path through the woods. He couldn't help his creeping to the altar, though it was done with a bit more confidence that he wasn't about to be eaten by the presence today. His meditation was much more easily obtained with the prior experience of not dying. An hour later, he exited the woods and made the run back to the school, taking his place among the crowds for their morning exercise.

At the end of morning drills, the pair surreptitiously exchanged glances across the migrating group. Rossweisse stayed behind to help the instructors pick up some of the equipment, and Daichi disappeared amongst a gaggle of tittering girls. Keeping an eye on his marks as everyone disrobed, he discovered their lockers. He'd have to be a bit forceful this morning to make sure he was released from the clutches of the older girls with time to spare, but he'd make it up to them tomorrow. He was quickly cleaned, with minimal cuddling, and dried by an obliging shot of magic.

He quickly dressed, followed by casually ensuring no witnesses were in the area. Daichi operated as quickly as he could, popping their lockers open. A few taps to the side of the baggy dropped a light sprinkle into the back portion of the girls' panties, and then he was gone, on his way to Freyja's office to begin the academic testing out process. He wouldn't know the results of his escapades until the rumor mill reached his ears at the end of the day.

The remainder of his second day at school passed by in a bored blur. Exam after exam was presented to him. He started with Mathematics, taking the exams for each year's subject sequentially at his request. Language arts was next in both English, since it was his preferred first language, and Japanese, knowledge of which was a gift from his father. He demonstrated necessary skill in both reading and writing for each grade level. He managed to work his way through half of the total elementary level exams that first day, all of the math and language arts tests were finished, his pencil flying across tests and answer sheets. Science, and history of the mortal world would follow the next day, taking him the longest to finish simply by virtue of the amount of information he would have to read within each test.

Despite the simplistic content, he was feeling mentally drained by the end of his eight hours of near constant testing. It was a good thing that the moment he met up with his Little Rose she gave him a big smile, which by itself was enough to buoy his energy slightly, but the giggles that followed as she reported on the girls during morning classes truly lifted his spirits. They shared several long minutes in giggle fits from her descriptions of their faces once the itching took hold, their butts constantly being scratched and picked at until the four of them were finally dismissed to the nurse's office.

They'd no doubt be embarrassed for a few days as word got around, but with magic as such a readily available commodity, a little itching powder would be cleaned up and the girls set to rights in seconds, which was exactly what occurred. The girls returned shortly after being dismissed, faces down and burning red as they retook their seats.

Daichi also wasn't asked to hang out after school that day either, the girls choosing to escape to their homes as fast as they could. He chalked that up as another plus, breaking out a book to read while Rossweisse hummed to herself and practiced some upper level runic magic.

Freyja would be by in a little bit to take him home after finishing up some paperwork, as would Gondul for Rose since she wouldn't be playing at his house that evening. They'd set up a day for that weekend where Rossweisse would visit to make sure he was practicing correctly. While they did plan to do some studying, it was mostly code for a play day that was instantly seen through by the adults if the glances and smirks exchanged were any indication.

Gondul was the first to arrive that day, his friend waving goodbye with an approving elder Valkyrie smiling as they walked away.

Daichi returned to the room and propped his book up.

Now that he was finally alone, it was time.

He wouldn't be able to strike again so quickly, but he could draft plans in preparation for the future.

The supply closet held all sorts of things. Mops, buckets, toilet paper, heavy duty tape, cleaning chemicals, the list of potentially useful items was immense, their applications equally so.

The storage shed housed sports equipment of all types, balls of all shapes and sizes, various martial practice weapons; if it could be used in exercise, they had it. Perks of being a school for mythological beings.

The locker room was the home of easily accessed personal belongings, hygiene products, shower heads, slippery tile, _and young developing bodies._ Bad Yako instincts! That's not useful! …for now!

The teachers' lounge held a fridge, bathroom, microwave, sink, and some storage space. While that seemed rather sparse, there was plenty of opportunity for chaos, discomfort, and inconvenience.

That left the actual classrooms and Freyja's office. Most classes used whiteboards and varying levels of technology. He may not have any current desire for the more typical applications of porn, but that was far from their only use.

With the internet at his fingertips and his own ingenuity paired with his prior background in engineering, the possibilities open to him were endless, and the campus like a sweet ripe berry ready to be devoured.

**A/N:**

**Allhailthesith **– I see your points and raise you this counterpoint: as magical beings, do they need to lift weights to gain strength in the first place? Of all those examples you listed, it can be argued that almost none of them did any strength training anyway, they simply attained more Mana, or Ki, or whatever it is, which then amplified their abilities. If that's the case, then wouldn't flexibility and cardio be the priority when bodily strength is simply a matter of improving your chosen metaphysical energy?

Bruce Wayne Batman, according to the DC fandom wiki, began his training at 18 after learning his parents' deaths held no greater meaning, so he was an adult.

The one true human of your examples where training was done young in a universe where forms of energy exist, Krillin, ended up as a midget. Just saying.

Now, to be fair, I'm pretty sure I implied something along the lines of no strength training somewhere in past chapters, but I'll be happy to make this discussion canon for my story in a future chapter to give a solid foundation for why strength training is pointless for more-than-human beings, so thank you for bringing it up. It seems relevant to Touki, so maybe then? If you have any other good arguments for certain plot points, definitely point them out so I can make sure to cover any plotholes!

**Guest-Questioner** – I think I see what you mean, so here's why Daichi feels the way he does about Devil Magic. He was previously human, so he has that perspective of limitless imagination, but as a Yokai has to continue working hard for the power Devils have the potential to very easily achieve if they put forth the effort. He's just a bit envious, and irritated at the wastefulness, that's all.

**Yukilumi** – That was a fantastic breakdown of what you like so far, so thank you for that! I'm glad you're enjoying Daichi's character!

Everything I wrote about Kitsune has some kind of basis in actual myth, though I did twist some of it to suit my story needs. I pulled a lot from the wiki pages I could find, and there's a lot more available that I simplified into the details I put into the story. Expect more of that spread throughout chapters, I love putting stuff like that into my writing and do a lot of research to make sure I'm mostly accurate.

I'll have to go back through to reread his Freyja conversations. A lot of the time my writing gets away from me when the muse hits hard, and then I end up with word vomit of the scenes as they play through my head and miss stuff when I go back to revise.

I'd definitely say it's somewhat AU, but I always viewed Sera and Gabriel as having a much better relationship than they're portrayed as. They always seemed like they were actually pretty good friends. Maybe it's just personal head canon. It also seemed like most of the mythologies, at least at the top level, were already on decent enough terms, even before the peace pact between the Christianity factions (who also weren't really all that antagonistic at the upper levels… though the church was kind of a cunt).

Daichi won't be a student at Kuoh. Normally I try not to give plot stuff away, but that would literally be pointless with how I've set the story so far, so I'm not really ruining anything. I hate reading stories where it's just canon events with a new character. If I wanted the canon story, I'd go watch or read the original content, so I have all my characters kick the canon tower over pretty much immediately if I can swing it to be logically feasible for the story. There will be canon character interactions, but he definitely won't be sticking around Kuoh for extended periods.

**TehStorm** – I think I'll put a power comparison in when we get to discussing Touki a few chapters from now. Thanks for bringing that up, it's an important detail! I'm keeping the full harem members on lockdown. I have _**THE LIST**_ already compiled with general plot points to justify their relationships, but I'm definitely open to suggestions, especially for side characters or those that don't see a lot of screen time that I may have forgotten.

I think I hit all the major stuff from reviews so far. Thank you, everyone, for being so enthusiastic about the story, I'm looking forward to more thoughts on future chapters!


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Daichi let his prior plans for a two-week grace period pass as he originally intended. Several of those days were spent testing, while the remainder was spent reworking his schedule and researching. With standard education now unnecessary and more free time on his hands, he went to work. Asgard piped in cellphone and internet connectivity, among other things, using a combination of science and magic ingenuity, which allowed him full access to his smartphone's functions. His previously allotted education time was reworked into self-study, where he was required to present three projects over the course of every grade cycle in regards to what he had been studying and learning during his time at the academy.

His research over the initial two weeks consisted of as much information as he could glean on magic of all types from Freyja's and the school's library. He started with the simple title and summary of each major magic system, then began slowly working through the intricacies, strengths, and weaknesses in regards to how each system functioned over the course of the following months. The vast majority were unavailable to him without direct instruction similar to what he was receiving in Asgard, but knowledge was power, and he wanted to be as prepared as possible when he initiated his career as a Problem Solver. That was the politically correct title for a bounty hunter. It gave it that edge of Hollywood drama that gods seemed to love.

'_I've hired a… Problem Solver.'_ Stated in a gritty, fifties mafia style voice. That was how he imagined it anyway. The reality was much more boring, at least until things started to explode.

His _research_ over the initial two weeks _also_ consisted of scouring the internet for his recreational hobby of causing mild irritation and inconvenience for anyone he thought would provide him with some amusement. All sorts of flora and fauna began finding its way into strange places around the school, floors became incredibly slippery on random single tiles which changed locations weekly, clothing suddenly vanished or became a size too small or large; the list of simple pranks to play was expansive, and only increased in number as Daichi began mastering simple runic casting.

Naturally, with a functioning cellphone, both Gabriel and Serafall began texting him fairly consistently. They stuck to texting on weekdays and calling on weekends though, as there was only so much that happened to all three of them in their day-to-day affairs, even as a Devil King and Archangel. However, they were fantastic resources for the affairs of the outside world, and of the Christian factions in particular. Listening to the pair of them vent was great stress relief for them, and educational for him. On the flip side, they always loved hearing about whatever recent shenanigans he had been up to that week, or how adorable he got when he geeked out over his most recent projects.

Rossweisse had become a regular fixture around the mansion as well. With his increasing abilities in runes, Daichi required more supervision during practices, and the pair regularly spent hours together in the libraries pouring over various types of magical texts. At least, that was what occurred when Daichi didn't manage to persuade her to assist in some new diabolical scheme he was in the process of concocting. Many of his more intricate pranks, such as the enchanted slipping tiles at the beginning of his reign, were only possible because of her since he did not yet have the skill level required to enchant objects with runes.

It was like this that he slowly slipped into a routine and suddenly found himself seated within the Grove of Barri at the age of six, though he appeared nine. Three years of meditation every single morning had led to this moment. He had long ago lost the fear of the looming presence, nowadays almost finding it comforting. While it initially had been indifferent to his existence, after almost two years it began to almost lazily swirl around him, caressing and embracing him more and more the longer he spent meditating.

This morning began as any other, with Daichi seated before the stone altar. He easily slipped into his trance and began the process of integrating himself into his surroundings. It was a part of the described process he had learned from the reference material he had been provided, and a trick he had finally managed to acquire after a year of practice.

His internal energy seeped outwards, his mind sent adrift with it as it gently touched everything in the area. He had initially been surprised to find the forest wasn't actually lifeless. There were all sorts of animals, creatures, critters, and creepy crawlies that called the place home, they were all simply completely silent. It had initially been incredibly unnerving, but as with all things, Daichi adjusted to it over time. It was during this process that the change commenced. The best he could begin to describe it was as if a sound reminiscent to a lock clicking open resounded through his mind, but also as though a curtain rose to reveal an unseen stage, all while his soul was set adrift amongst a serene yet equally destructive sea, all happening at once.

With a gasp, Daichi was pulled from his trance, Freyja's hands gently resting on his shoulders as she kneeled behind him. He was left panting and sweating from the experience, and she patiently waited as he regained his composure.

"You touched nature's true essence for the first time." Daichi finally steadied his breathing as he turned to rest against the altar, his hands still quivering slightly as he responded to her words.

"Yea."

"Good. Congratulations." It was with a warm smile that she leaned forward and stroked his head. "You're now officially a Senjutsu user." As if responding to her words, an itching sensation began prickling at the base of his spine. Daichi grit his teeth, digging now sharpened nails into the soft earth beneath him as his third tail sprouted.

"That was just as unpleasant as the first time." He gave a sigh as he slumped back against the stone once more. Freyja pulled him into her lap sideways, cuddling him into her as she stroked his hair and ears.

"You did very well," she complimented. "This is about what we anticipated for the timeframe. The next few years will have you learn to control nature's energy and filter the negative aspects from what you utilize until it's second nature for you." She smiled down on him. "Take a break for today, and don't attempt to access Senjutsu without me there to guide you. Inari told me that, as a Yako, you'll struggle even more with negativity, and giving in to it would be disastrous."

Daichi only nodded in response, already drifting into a pleasant exhausted nap.

He slept the full day away, Freyja assuring a now ten-year-old, and to Daichi's glee already developing, Rossweisse in the meantime that he was fine, just tired from his first success. Her close relationship with him had initially seen her bullied even more than she had been previously, though that stopped a few short weeks after it began. Daichi's prank reprisals against the girls engaged in the acts had been much more malicious than the lighthearted pranks he typically played.

Eventually, he slowly woke late the next morning feeling more alive than ever before. It took him several minutes of placidly laying bundled in his bedding to adjust his senses to handle his new reality.

In addition to an increase in personal power from acquiring his third tail, he could _feel_ the world around him and the energy available to access simply by willing it. He abstained, remembering Freyja's warning from the previous day, but the transparency and ease with which he was able to maintain an awareness of all life and its flows took time for him to adjust and normalize.

The moment he sat up; Freyja was by his side.

"Starting today, your previous self-study time will be devoted to supervised practice. You'll continue meditating in the mornings to enhance your new connection to the world." She looked him over with a critical eye. He could feel her doing _something_ with her power, but hadn't the slightest idea what it could be. "If Inari's estimates were right, you'll have broken through into your fourth tail by the time you've mastered Senjutsu and Touki. Once we've managed to acclimate you to seamlessly utilizing Senjutsu we'll be able to start your Touki training." Daichi nodded along obediently. Despite their friendly relationship, she was an unbelievably powerful goddess, and he more than trusted her knowledge and abilities.

"Where will that put me in a power ranking?"

Freyja's eyes glanced towards the ceiling in thought.

"With your relationships to the Christian factions it might make a bit more sense to use their comparisons. Your power relative to their measurements at four tails and an accomplished Senjutsu and Touki user would likely place you as a weaker High-Class Devil in the case of Hell, or somewhere between a four to six wings Angel." She looked back down at him in consideration. "Though that's mostly from the power and utility coming from Senjutsu and Touki. Your personal reserves will likely be sitting in the upper levels of Mid Class Devils."

Daichi nodded in acceptance. If Yasaka was top of ultimate class at nine tails, it made sense that he'd likely be sitting around High-Class Devils in personal power around tail five, and six would be brushing ultimate class. The qualitative power boost from crossing the seven tails barrier would then put him into low ultimate class. Ascending as a Tenko would make his power level equivalent to a low-level deity, though that was still many years and an adventure to discover the method away.

If he kept his current pace, he should be six tails by the time canon events took place which would give him a healthy advantage over the canon cast and most early enemies if push came to shove. He'd be basing his operations out of Japan after all, so he would inevitably run into them eventually. Freyja broke him out of his internal musing.

"Alright, lazy little fox, it's time to get up and moving. We need to normalize you to your new strength during the morning's training and introduce you to the basics of controlling nature before you accidentally go feral on us." She then popped out of existence and he could soon hear her bustling about the kitchen. Giving one last long stretch, he bounced out of bed and padded over to the bathroom to wash his face and dress in his loose workout clothing. A light breakfast and a short jog later had him performing drills separated from the group under Freyja's watchful eye.

At three tails, the force of his uninhibited blows could likely crack stone with relative ease. It was little wonder how those in the upper echelons of power could casually devastate landscapes in their brawls. The power was necessary to break through their enemy's natural defenses, which also increased with the amount and purity of an individual's energy. Supernatural fights, if all energy parameters were at an equal level, ultimately came down to battles of attrition. In essence, who ran out of energy first. Of course, this could be offset by skill, secret abilities, and other trump cards to be used to whittle down an opponent until a decisive strike could be made.

Once Freyja had been satisfied that he had his increased abilities under some control, she pulled him into a practice room. The first intentional access to nature's energy was the most dangerous for practitioners who were not blessed by innate knowledge and skill with the process like the Nekoshou were.

"In the beginning, you'll access Senjutsu through meditation. Once you've become familiar enough with the process and feel of filtering the negativity, we'll progress to moving meditation and holding the state with gradually increasing distractions until you're capable of maintaining it during combat." Daichi settled into a relaxed seated posture as she spoke. "This process will be time consuming. Once you've mastered continuous channeling, we'll progress to Touki stimulation, manipulation, and its applications." Daichi nodded in acknowledgement, already slipping into a meditative trance. He could feel nature's presence at the edge of his senses, slightly subdued outside of a natural focal point and amidst civilization. Freyja's soft voice smoothly guided his mind without breaking his concentration.

"Good, now you need to pull the energy within you. There will be two distinct sensations, represented differently for everyone. Whichever one you associate with negativity; you need to immediately begin expelling from your vessel as you fill yourself with the positive aspects."

Daichi did as instructed, gently allowing a trickle to begin flowing into him from his surroundings. He had read about the associations previously. For some it was visualization, typically of colors they associated with positive and negative. Another common occurrence was reliving experiences associated with each side. Others were given feelings. This was the case for Daichi.

Positivity was joy, happiness, and love. It was the beauty of appearance and soul. Negativity on the other hand, was strange. Negativity was power. It was seduction, a tempting mistress whispering sweet words of potential, of indulgence and freedom. They were all lies, easily seen through but providing wishful images regardless. His Yako instincts almost had him groaning in desire. It became obvious how dangerous this could have been for any other Yako kitsune. It was everything he wanted, but knew it was wrong, his human past tempering his Yako impulses with wisdom. Freyja's voice was a whisper at the edge of hearing, a murmur of praise at his progress.

"Very good, my little fox. Hold it for as long as you can, I've got you."

He managed six minutes and twenty-four seconds that first day.

**A/N:**

**Allhailthesith** – That makes sense. I definitely agree with you. I sent you a PM about it, but for everyone else, just to clarify, I promise I'm not intentionally nerfing individuals or limiting them based off human logic (unless they're human, then they're subject to their universe's rules). I think I mentioned previously that I was pretty thrown off by the ridiculous power creep in canon, so this is my answer to that. I'm not nerfing anyone, I'm nerfing _everyone_.

**But **_**only**_** in the context of power accrual.** Sairorg trained for _years_ for his power alongside unlocking Touki without Senjutsu, and he was the only one I felt deserved where he was at the top until the plot driven main characters came along. The Satans and other ultimate class level entities had been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years. No group of punk kids are going to suddenly end up powerful enough to be defeating them in combat, power of legendary titties or not.

**Reader0007** – Her mythological appearance had her with this kind of strawberry blonde hair, so I suppose Mirajane as a strawberry blonde wouldn't be too different from how I had her in my mind. I left it pretty open to interpretation so people could pick their own ideal version of her.

**Guest** – Don't be too concerned with relationships and pairings and what not this early. Everything is going to be slow burn for a while as far as developments go. He's going to have to reach at least somewhat close to their levels of power before his flirting and advances are taken seriously, which I'm pretty sure has been mentioned by at least Gabriel and Freyja. The 'take his virginity' comment in an earlier chapter was half comedic effect, half non serious statement. Even if Serafall did, in the context of the universe it'd just be a super powerful devil taking what she wanted, and nobody would really care. The soonest harem and romance developments are going to come from the more normal supernatural characters, since as you said, nobody that powerful would actually give a shit about an unproven kid. The only reason they've interacted as much as they have is because of the unusual circumstances of his 'birth' and his technical father. He's like a mascot or cute pet right now, but it's laying the foundation for future interaction.

Chapter 10 for Unique is finished, and I've started work on IDW and DH, so expect the next chapters for everything this weekend.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

It was two more years of meditation, practice, and following Freyja's instructions to the letter before he was finally able to begin practicing Touki. It had taken him that long in order to master holding a positive Senjutsu state under duress, which meant fighting and combat against several enemies at once. He could still only hold it for a few hours, but that was more than enough time for the length of the fights at his current level of power.

During the first few months, until he had shown full mastery of filtering the negativity, he had been under constant watch by either Freyja or an instructor she trusted to be able to instantly restrain him. It was immensely stifling, and his Yako instincts had been yowling and pacing in frustration since he no longer had any easy outlet for his impulses. The following month after receiving Freyja's approval saw an almost vicious level of schoolwide mischief occurring nearly daily, though it eventually tapered off back to normal.

Rooms filled with foam bubbles, thousands of small rubber balls bouncing down stairwells and corridors, exploding paint and glitter bombs, some of which were combined in a single package, eggs balanced precariously atop doorways or placed in seats under a mirage or camouflage rune, random farm animals wandering the halls, entire hallways changing their physics or being snared under illusions. Daichi had become immensely competent in the Nordic Rune system over the years under Rossweisse's genius tutelage and leveraged his studies during what the Valkyries in training later called The Plague.

The worst part for all the girls and instructors was that they _knew_ who the culprit was but never once were any of them able to find any evidence to prove it. They tried, too. For a full week, the entire student body mobilized in an attempt to catch Daichi in the act. To add insult to injury, Daichi _helped them_ attempt to catch himself, cheerily assisting as they triggered trap after trap. Rossweisse was an invaluable ally; delayed runic sequences and triggered event components made everything all the more chaotic, and over the years she had come to be a willing, perhaps even gleeful, assistant in their now combined pastime. The runes themselves functioned similar to a countdown timer or an if-then clause in a program. If( ==pressure), then( ). It was almost like writing in pseudocode but with magical letters that had directly translated mystical meanings.

The one upside the instructors found was year-by-year their graduating Valkyries became more and more adept at identifying and avoiding magical and mechanical traps, some of the more combat oriented adopting a motto of Constant Vigilance within their squads. It was pure coincidence that many of them also had squad emblems resembling a multitailed fox.

All these events led to where Daichi found himself on this particular morning. He had been practicing manipulating Touki for a few weeks at this point and Freyja had finally decided he was ready to use it to its full capacity. That was why he was currently facing down an incredibly jolly Ullr who was practically bouncing in place in anticipation.

His normal power level had him at a place where sparring with other students was no problem, even with nothing held back it was still relatively safe. Touki boosted his physical abilities quite a bit further than the young, non-blooded students could handle which was why Freyja organized a spar between someone powerful enough to be safe at Daichi's full power, but was also no stranger to combat in order to evaluate his abilities and provide pointers. Having all the trainees watch also served as a two for one educational experience.

"Begin!" Freyja's voice was easily heard over the excited chatter of the audience. Daichi reacted instantly, bringing up his full power and imbuing himself. His Touki enhanced step shattered the ground and tossed him to a still grinning Ullr's side. His left foot swung up in a round house kick aimed for the back of the god's knees, but Ullr's hand shot out and slapped the foot away. Each strike sent or intercepted let out a sonic boom of force and Daichi rotated with the momentum of the deflection, ducking below a strike and coming up with a pair of punches that he slammed into Ullr's ribs, the force blowing the god several feet away but not doing any appreciable damage.

Daichi stepped again leaving another crater behind as he suddenly appeared in front of Ullr, the god's smile still as wide as before. Tossing out another pair of jabs aimed in soft locations, the god casually knocked both aside, lashing out with a casual kick of his own that Daichi leapt away to avoid. Ullr used the separation to speak out in his low, gravelly voice.

"Not bad, brat. You have a good foundation along with the aggressiveness and instincts to capitalize on openings. Now, let's see your limits."

It was Ullr's turn to vanish, though he did so without a sound. There was no explosion of force against the ground or shattering of the sound barrier when he moved, he simply existed in one location, then he was launching a strike into Daichi's face in the next instant.

Daichi weaved to the side, palming the side of Ullr's arm to help in the deflection. It felt like shoving a steel beam, but he forced a burst of energy through his palm to help, the explosive result successfully diverting the blow. Daichi whipped his leg up to retaliate, but Ullr's offhand intercepted it, knocking it away and forcing Daichi into a back handspring to rebalance himself and attempt to find some separation. He wasn't given a reprieve, Ullr hovering over him from behind, a strike already sailing through the air where he would finish his movement.

His tails whipped up, his dark red Touki aura coating his black fur as they lashed into the arm to deflect its course, then followed up with pinpoint strikes to soft locations and joints. Ullr laughed as he stumbled back.

"Nice work, kid. That was a nasty surprise. If it was anyone else around your power level, that likely would have ended the fight." He vanished again, Daichi attempting to defend but was still sent hurtling across the field by the strike that slammed into his stomach.

"You're still lacking in response time perception, but that mostly comes from experience." Another strike landed against Daichi's back, sending him skidding and sprawling across the grass. "Recovery was passable, but even when you've been struck, you should maintain awareness of your enemy's location." It was like the bastard was invisible, even to his life detection. It made some sense considering he was a god of the hunt, so being invisible in nature was part and parcel to who he was, but it was still infuriating for Daichi. Maintaining visible sight of the man was maddening.

Daichi held his ground, no longer attacking as Ullr assaulted him repeatedly from all sides. Deflections, defense, absorption, Daichi's hands and tails went into overdrive to keep his vital areas covered yet strikes still managed to occasionally break through his guard. The assault went on for several minutes before it suddenly ceased, leaving a disheveled and panting Daichi glancing around warily. Ullr gave him a bright smile, his stance completely casual.

"Excellent. Your attack and defense are acceptable. A couple more years of practice will shore up any minor deficiencies." He hummed to himself in thought for a brief moment. "What do you know about power and strength?"

Daichi wheezed out a response.

"More, power, harder, hits."

Ullr shrugged.

"I suppose that's technically correct." He raised his voice to ensure he was heard by their still attentive audience. "The more involved answer is that mortals and supernatural beings are different in that their strength stems from different sources. Mortals typically grow stronger from improving their meat golems. The supernatural grow stronger from enhancing their energy and souls." Turning to directly address the crowd, he continued his lecture.

"What that means, is physical exertion usually matters very little to us, as we're fueled by our chosen metaphysical energies. There are always exceptions of course, but that's the general rule since it's typically vastly more inefficient. It's why we focus on flexibility, stamina, and combat foundations so heavily. Explosive power comes from our cultivated energies, not our physical shells, but we still need our shells to last long enough and conform to our wills."

He turned to Freyja, jutting a finger out at a still recovering Daichi.

"Freyja! I'm taking the kid over to Alfheim! We're going hunting!" She simply sighed and waved them off, the other students breaking out into excited babble as Ullr grasped Daichi's shoulder.

"Hang on tight, kid." Within the next blink, the pair had vanished.

The popped back into existence on the Bifrost, Heimdall shooting the pair a glance as Ullr gave him a wave.

"Heimdall! Think you could send us over to Alfheim?" The guardian didn't deign to respond, simply lifting his sword and dropping it back against the rainbow road causing a clang to resound.

"Appreciate you, brother!" Ullr called out as the pair vanished once more. They came crashing down into a clearing in the midst of a forest. Ullr immediately seemed to relax even further, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

"Right, here's the plan kid. Odin has a standing bounty on dark elves. Something about Ragnarok, and the end times, and them all being unbelievably evil little shits. Anyway, that's the target of today's hunt. You ever shot a bow?" Daichi shook his head, still catching up to the rapid pace of everything that had transpired.

"Well, you're going to learn today." A bow that came up to Daichi's chin manifested itself in front of him. He grabbed it out of the air on reflex. "Go on. Give it a tug." Daichi did as instructed and quickly found out even his full strength could barely budge the string. "Touki, kid. Use it." Enhancing himself, Daichi pulled. Even using his full strength, it was a struggle to completely draw the string, but when he succeeded an arrow of light coalesced between his fingers. Ullr nodded in acknowledgement.

"Good work, kid. Now, that bow is named Alf Svafnir. It literally means Elf Slayer." At Daichi's deadpan glance Ullr shrugged. "Dwarves aren't known for their wordplay. Regardless, it'll pierce through a dark elf's defenses like hot butter. A light elf's too, but we're not hunting them. The hard part is getting the drop on the little buggers. If you succeed, you get to kill them easily. If you don't, you're stuck fighting your way out." Daichi opened his mouth to object before Ullr interrupted his attempt.

"No, no, no. That's the rules. You'll either learn the hunter's path, or you'll learn the warrior's. Or both, if you're ambitious." The next fifteen minutes were filled with a quick explanation on proper shooting form and stalking. Stand straight, body in line, feet shoulder width apart, bow arm straight but not locked, string arm even with jawline, ensure string won't get caught on anything on release, stay relaxed, deep breath, release on exhale.

"I'll only drop you in the outskirts of their domain. You should be able to handle their grunts." With that they vanished once again.

When he reappeared Daichi found himself alone in a gloomy, humid, dank forest. Vines clung to low hanging limbs and the forest floor brush was thick and thorny. Life was incredibly abundant despite the malaise hanging over the atmosphere, but the hairs on the back of his neck had immediately stood at attention once his brain caught up to his eyes. Nature's presence reminded him of the Grove, but significantly more feral, and very hungry. Glancing around for a few more moments, Daichi prepared to pick a direction. As he went to take a step, he threw himself into the bushes instead as a sharpened shaft of wood went flying over him

"Well, fuck."

**A/N:**

Discord: discord dot gg/YNNwwvy

**Silver1997** – I appreciate the positivity! Thank you, I hope you continue enjoying the story!

**Azaira** – You have some good points about special circumstances surrounding Rias' peerage, but I'm still of the opinion that they wouldn't progress as far as they did within a single year. I'm doing my best to keep a logical perspective and progression, but I have no doubt I'll make some slip ups, so be sure to call me out when I do lol

A good reminder about Yasaka. I'm taking the approach that as a nine tails a kitsune is still ultimate class, but the leyline allows her to have uncontested power for her area of Japan to the point where if a Satan class power came to pick a fight it wouldn't really be worth the effort. I can't comment on anything further without dipping into spoiler territory, which is in itself probably somewhat revealing, but what can I do?

If you have any other comments that you remember, don't feel shy about leaving more than one review. I read them all, so you'll be seen.

**Blaze2121** – I'm glad you're enjoying so much about the story lol I can't comment too much on what you stated so far since I want as much as possible to be a surprise moving forward, but I think you'll enjoy what I have planned.

**Reader0007 – **It's good you feel so strongly about this stuff since I'm not well educated on Hindu myth and religion. I learned a lot just from your breakdown that I can take notes on for possible future chapters.

As for God's power level, my theory is he was at least at Great Red's and Trihexa's power level, or very close to it since he would have to be at least that strong to seal the beast of the apocalypse away. He did that by himself, when it took how many top-level members of how many different factions to do something similar once it was released? Yea. DxD Christian God was hella strong.

**DarkMatterPhoenix –** It was an intentional description on my part, but I'm okay with revealing that it held no deeper meaning beyond its unique feeling to him as a Yako. Nature isn't the Force, though I could definitely argue the point if I was going to make it part of the plot lol


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

He needed more practice with the bow before it was even a consideration. With that passing thought, he dropped it next to him and continued rolling, scurrying through the underbrush to throw his attackers of his tail. Sinking into Senjutsu, he honed in on his attacker's life signatures. Daichi scurried up a tree, he was making way too much noise by staying on the ground. Safely ensconced in the thick canopy, he began scratching out runes.

Runes of silence and speed attached to his feet, rune of mirage attached to his torso, rune of illusion chained to it. Rune of – _move!_ An arrow thunked into the wood just above where his chest would have been had he not hugged his body to the branch supporting him. He pushed off, launching himself to the side and sinking further into Senjutsu. _'Path of the hunter, path of the warrior, how about path of the living?'_ Daichi stimulated his own life force, Touki bursting to the surface in a wave of dark crimson.

With a bit of preparation now complete, he suddenly reversed his course to the surprise of his pursuers, and slammed into one that failed to react in time to evade. Daichi's Touki imbued claws ripped out the grunt's throat like a knife carving through warm butter. He used the now falling corpse as a springboard, his energy stimulated jump blowing holes in the body as he tackled another enemy, ripping the wings from its back before replicating his last maneuver, ripping out its throat and jumping clear.

They were screaming now, shouting in fear and anger, the four remaining members of the group spreading out to encircle him. Daichi didn't hesitate, bouncing off of trees in the area and slicing into bodies, punishing openings in their defenses. He nailed a third to a tree, crushing its spine through its chest with his feet as though he were squashing a bug, then he disappeared, hiding amongst the branches of the forest and spreading his presence out to blend with the surrounding nature.

It was easy to do. The natural aura of the forest was perfectly suited to a heightened state of combat, his own feral instincts blending in with the background seamlessly. He was the hunter and his prey were scared.

They flit about the area warily, guarding each other's backs as the sudden lack of combat played havoc on their minds, the tension ramping up higher and higher the longer he waited. He struck the moment they began to relax, falling out of a tree into his full sized fox form, one massive paw slicing through the air and slamming all three into the dirt of the forest floor. They were crushed instantly, Daichi's Touki overpowering his strikes. It had been quite a while since he had reverted to his true form, and it was incredibly liberating, his black fur rippling as his body seemed to almost fade into the natural shadows of the forest floor despite his massive size. He took a few extra moments to indulge in the sensations before reluctantly transitioning back to his humanoid form.

Smaller form, smaller target.

He peered down at the crater of crushed dark elf. They were an ugly sight, but it wasn't much different than their normal bug like appearance, just a bit flatter.

**(a/n: taking the appearance from God of War as inspiration)**

He made his way back to the clearing Ullr initially dropped him in, recovering the bow and hanging it over his shoulder.

"That wasn't terrible." Ullr popped back into existence. "You definitely show promise. The patience of a hunter with the ferocity of a warrior. Your natural instincts are well suited to this kind of environment." Daichi gave him a very tooth filled smile, his sharp teeth visible.

"Yes. They are." Ullr grinned back at him.

"You'll spend the next three months here. That's the maximum time Freyja allowed. During that time, you'll learn to use that bow, to hunt efficiently, and to use the environment to your advantage if a fight is unavoidable." He tossed Daichi a pack of food and water. "Every week you provide the head of a commander I'll reward you with a day in civilization. Be careful though. Commanders are vastly more powerful than the common soldiers you just fought, and they always maintain a retinue. You'll have to utilize everything you have when you decide to attempt it." His lecture and warnings given, he popped back out of existence once more, his voice echoing behind.

"I'll return tomorrow to begin your proper instruction in the use of that bow. Until then, get used to your surroundings."

Daichi dug through the pack to categorize his provided belongings. It was roughly two days' worth of food and two water skins, both currently full, along with a blanket and some bedding. He took a sip from one of the skins before replacing it in the bag and hitching it over his shoulder. He needed a defensible area to bed down in before night fell. With no destination in mind, he picked a direction and took off, utilizing his oneness with nature to manipulate the plant life into easily allowing him passage.

Almost an hour of trekking through the forest later, Daichi finally picked up on an anomaly in his senses. He could feel an opening in the earth with an absence of the overabundance of life the surface seemed have going on in perpetuity. A short distance later, Daichi found himself staring down into a crevice in the earth. It was large enough for him to fit, but likely small enough to keep most predators out. It also conveniently opened into a more spacious cavern that was thankfully not covered in bat guano.

With a base of operations established, Daichi did as Ullr suggested and set out to explore the area around his temporary home. He simply began circle pathing, slowly spiraling outward until he felt he had established enough of a perimeter then returning to the cave. He'd spotted three other six elf patrols moving through the area during his excursion, but chose not to dismantle them in order to keep from drawing undo attention to this area of the forest, at least until he had more properly established himself.

With the area surveyed, he set about masking his hideout. Both magical and mechanical means were utilized, mirage, illusion, and silence runes were etched into stone while leaves, vines, and bushes were coaxed into shifting to provide additional foliage and cover. All said at the end of his labors, he was feeling fairly satisfied until Ullr dropped by the next morning, took one look at it, snorted and stated one word.

"Cute."

His fur fluffed out so fast from indignation he looked almost like a porcupine.

"Alright little fox, time to get down to business. Scout the perimeter and eliminate the hostile patrols in the area. After that, we'll begin teaching you how to hunt like a true predator."

Still feeling a bit put out about his work being disregarded, Daichi piped up.

"I'm literally a supernatural carnivorous animal. How much more of a true predator can you get?" Despite his words, he had already started preparing himself with his standard runic setup. Ullr laughed a deep, dark chuckle.

"Boy, until you're the top hunter in any given ecosystem, you'll never be a true predator." Daichi paused, sending Ullr an appraising glance before realizing the only reason he knew the god was there was by the visual confirmation his eyes were providing. No scent, no sound, no presence, mundane or otherwise. The further implications of his words slowly seeped in.

"You don't mean just out here in the wilds, do you? You mean literally any environment, social, economic, raw power, skill. But wouldn't that mean you aren't a true predator either?" Ullr had a satisfied smile as he looked down on the four tailed kitsune boy.

"No. I'm not, but I know the path. I'm walking it in a bid to reach the apex, but it's slow. If you learn quickly, you might take your first step by the end of our time here." Significantly more motivated, Daichi whipped the last of his runes into place and took off into the forest to lay waste to his enemies. His prey. For sentient beings, predator and prey was a mindset, and he would be the god that looked down on the struggles of all others, or he would die reaching for his goal.

The first group of Dark Elves barely knew what hit them. Two had simply vanished in an instant when the others had been distracted. The remaining four had quickly huddled together in a circle to stay perfectly aware of their surroundings, only to fail to look up in time to notice a repeat of Daichi's attack the previous day. A massive black and crimson paw slammed into the group, shattering wings and carapace in an instant, the sharp claws sheering off limbs with ease. The only thing heard in the surroundings was a brief thump and crunching.

Daichi was gone in the next moment, returned to his humanoid appearance and flitting through the trees as he sniffed out the remaining patrols. There had been three yesterday and it looked as though they stayed in the same general areas, the first group located near where he had spotted them the day before. These Dark Elven peon soldiers were generally unskilled, only holding some rudimentary weapon training with little magical ability.

What made them truly dangerous was their numbers. This forest was unbelievably massive and every square foot was patrolled in some capacity by these lower ranked creatures. The hierarchy followed a very simple system. The soldiers were at the bottom with the commanders above them, followed by the generals above those. The nobility was then ranked above generals, though those could only be found hidden away deep within the Underdark. It was likely there was only a single general in charge of this entire forest, with many commanders and an unknowable number of soldiers under his command.

Daichi crashed into the next group, ripping one directly out of the air. The remaining five scrambled to attack, arrows and throwing spears flying to his landing zone. One of his tails swung out and latched onto a nearby limb which flexed and then slung him back towards the group where he promptly relinquished another elf of their life after it failed to respond to the surprise change in direction.

Daichi launched himself into his next victim, crushing its neck in his hands, then somersaulted up into the foliage, disappearing only for a few moments before suddenly crashing into a pair that strayed too close together, their lives ending in the same instant as sharp crimson claws pierced their skulls. The last member was already fleeing before Daichi managed to turn and end it. A growl of frustration rippled through him before calming himself.

He would have needed to let one escape eventually to report back. They would start sending more patrols, or more numbers in each group, which meant more targets for practice and more fear amongst the prey. If he wanted to keep in contact with Sera and Gabby on the weekends, he'd need to start luring commanders into what was now _his_ domain. With a one last chuff of irritation, he took off into the forest once more.

Fifteen minutes later Daichi returned to his camp, Ullr sitting patiently on a log.

"It's done."

"You allowed one to escape."

"It was not my initial intention, but it works in my favor regardless."

"Explain."

"More prey, more targets, more fear."

Ullr opened his eyes which, for the first time, held a sinister glint.

"A decent start. Let's expand on your education."

For the remainder of the day, Daichi learned. It began simple, he would practice with the bow, Ullr critiquing him as he shot arrow after arrow. Once his Touki had been exhausted, they sat and talked until he had recovered, the cycle repeating itself as Ullr lectured over anything that seemed relevant to a particular topic he had chosen for each day.

Ullr was more than just a god of bows or the hunt. He held an incredibly prominent place among Norse myth and religion. While those were the domains he was most known for, he was also a warrior, and had briefly held leadership over Asgard during a period where Odin had gone into temporary exile. However, beyond those facts, there was little known about the god except that he seemed to be of immense importance to the pantheon. After interacting with the god, Daichi already knew the lack of information was by design. A hunter known to his quarry is a poor huntsman indeed.

That first day Ullr spoke on mechanical camouflage and stealth. How to step, where to step, how much to step, what the rest of the body should be doing during each step, how to avoid excess noise while moving through areas, what colors blend best, what to use for each color, how to break up his silhouette. The list was extensive, and they only touched on each topic briefly between practice sessions. Ullr was an unending font of knowledge and Daichi did his absolute best to absorb as much of everything as he could.

**A/N:**

**Yukilumi** – Yea, it's basically an experiment on my part. Can I write three different characters with the same base person but driven and developed into different personalities by the events of their new lives and make it all make sense? It's been challenging but really fun so far. I've caught myself swapping between character names several times while writing lol

The childhoods are actually kinda interesting since because the universes are so different the character interactions and MC developments all change ever so slightly over time.

Unique is probably my personal favorite simply because Daichi is so much fun to write. The Devil-May-Care attitude is a ton of fun to try and express but also keep in line. But then again, we haven't really stepped too far into the other stories yet either, so that may change once the pace really starts to pick up.

I've been tossing that power theory around in my head for several years now, since it works to explain _a lot_ of universes' dynamics, especially in anime style worlds. It manages to give background and cover up some plot holes that are pretty common in these types of stories.

**NazgulBelserion** – There were a ton of characters that had a bunch of potential in the DxDverse that I felt were casually used as plot devices then discarded once their value to the MC was expended. It's kinda sad tbh, there was a lot of potential to really turn the story into something more than an ecchi battle harem, though I admit it does what it does very well.

**ExtraterrestrialFlyingCat** – Yes, I did. As I said above with Yukilumi, it's something I'm doing as a thought experiment. Can I do it? And can it be done successfully? What are the implications of certain events on the mentality of a person in such drastically different situations? It's been a lot of fun keeping track of the different characters and their developments and most people seem to enjoy it so far, so I'm tentatively labeling it as a success. :)


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

Daichi was laying prone in the bushes at the edge of the enemy camp, his presence completely dispersed into the surrounding area. His black fur kept him practically invisible in the shadows of the forest as he surveyed the outpost of the first commander he was stalking. He had minimized his fox form down to a normal size for this excursion. It was already his third week in the forest and he wanted to return and talk to Sera, Gabby, and Rose. Ullr had been keeping Freyja up to date on his progress so she wouldn't be nearly as concerned with his absence.

His sharp eyes and tuned senses apprised him of any movement within the area. He had missed this more than he realized. The stalking, the challenge of the hunt, the feel of his prey falling before him. Those first years of his new life were simple pleasures, so much so that he planned to make a career out of it once he was ready to be unleashed on the world.

Culling the soldiers as he had been in these few weeks leading up to this moment hadn't been true hunting. It had been training, practice to learn new tricks in an arena that heavily favored his natural abilities. It was similar to how he had moved on to more difficult targets in the beginning, only returning to the rabbits for sustenance. They were without challenge, but now he had a true target worth his attention. He had to suppress a growl of anticipation.

The commander had a short crown of horns that identified it as a higher entity than the soldiers surrounding it. Its personal guard retinue was a six elf squad comprised of elite soldiers that flanked him wherever he went, in or out of the camp. The camp itself housed over two hundred additional soldiers that patrolled the surrounding forest. He'd spent the past three weeks whittling their numbers down steadily, and now he was preparing for his assault.

However, that was stage two of the plan. Stage one was to assassinate the commander during one of his excursions into the forest which is the reason he continued laying in the bushes unmoving. He had been keeping an eye on the camp for almost two days now while waiting for his chance to strike. His eyes and ears perked up as they finally registered movement coming from the commander's pod home. His fur rippled along the length of his body as he flexed dormant muscles in preparation to move.

He was perched on a small hill to the northeast of the camp to take advantage of a superior vantage point. The commander was making his way out of the western side of their fortifications, so Daichi made his move, slithering out of the brambles and padding on silent paws as he made his way around. He picked up the recent scent in the air from their passing and struck out along the trail.

He wasn't far behind, the group doing a patrol to check on the more permanently stationed smaller outposts. They'd stop, the commander would survey the soldiers who would do their part in acting busy and attentive, and then his group would move to the next location. This repeated itself four times before Daichi struck. It was the optimal location between the two stationary locations in order to at least initially avoid reinforcements.

His diminutive humanoid form sailed out of the trees in silence, his movements less than a whisper with one of the guards losing their life in an instant as Daichi plunged Touki infused claws through his back and ripped the creature's heart out. He couldn't mask the sound of the body crashing to the ground, but it didn't matter, Daichi having already vanished back into the surroundings.

He gripped the bow he had stashed in a dimensional pouch provided by Ullr. The bastard only let him borrow it this once, with the stipulation that he'll need to earn it by slaying another two commanders without outside assistance if he wanted to keep it. It was immensely convenient, especially with only his clothing converting with his kitsune form, the pouch converting along with them.

From an equivalent height, Daichi sat perched, bracing against the trunk of the tree as he drew the string back. He lined up the shot, the commander's head whipping around as the arrow formed on the string. The dark elf let out a warning cry too late, Daichi releasing the string and allowing the arrow to slice through the space occupied by two of the elite soldiers, each crumpling moments after the line of light piercing their chests dissipated. A roar of rage shattered the silence of the area as the commander obliterated the tree from which the light sprung, his own purple light disintegrating the foliage and leaving a bare circle on the earth.

Daichi had long since moved, having dropped to the forest floor and vacated the area in the same instant the arrow flew, repositioning to the side of the group. He wouldn't have another chance to utilize the bow again, not when the commander could sense the light as it formed. The dark elf would be prepared now that the weapon was known.

Daichi slipped the bow back into the pouch, the entrance expanding to allow the object entry. He had three more elites and the commander himself to deal with, and quickly or reinforcements would arrive. He stimulated his Touki, reinforcing his legs. He had successfully stealthily hunted three of his prey, now it was time to entertain more aggressive tactics. He pushed off the ground, his approach explosive yet soundless, having mastered the dispersal of energy into the broader environment under Ullr's tutelage, instead of the localized explosions he had been using.

He was a shadowed blur, a black streak that slammed into another of the elites, the commander already swinging his polearm to intercept his attack but moving just a split second too slow to intercede on his subordinate's behalf. The elite paid for his leader's mistake, his head leaving his shoulders, flipping through the air, his body maintaining its flight for a moment before registering the change and descending to the ground like a rag doll.

Daichi stayed visible this time, gripping the bark of a tree and giving the commander a vicious grin, his sharp teeth highly visible as he flicked blood off of his hand. His eyes were taunting and malicious as he shifted and faded into the shadows of the surrounding forest. The commander gave his last subordinate an order, only to find he was all alone, Daichi having struck the sixth elite with his tails in passing.

Four areas could be seen having been punctured on the back, neck, and arms, though Daichi had not used Touki in the act. Senjustu had deadly capabilities all its own, and Daichi had leveraged its unique aura reading abilities to directly attack the dark elf's spiritual flows, severing his spirit from his body. It was an ability he had not been able to practice until he was provided with an overabundance of enemies with which to experiment, but was devastating in its efficiency once mastered.

Daichi let out a haunting laugh, his childlike voice echoing tauntingly, dangerously around the area. He could see he was getting to the commander, the fear and panic setting in, but he had not yet broken the creature. He was made of sterner stuff than the soldier fodder. Daichi tossed out a small pebble, launching it as if he was playing with marbles. The commander deflected the high speed projectile with his weapon, though it wouldn't have hurt him regardless. This continued for several seconds, Daichi launching pebbles, and moving, laughing the entire time until he finally launched one last rock, this one slightly larger, a single charged rune carved on its surface. With a small application of mana, Daichi started a cascading failure, destabilizing the rune and launching it.

The commander swatted at the rock with his weapon, the same as he had been, except this time the rune for _explosion_ responded, the rock blowing apart sending jagged shards throughout the area. The rock itself was ultimately never meant to do damage though, the slivers simply bouncing off the commander's natural magical defenses. The sound and surprise were what Daichi had aimed for, and he leveraged the opening, his small body slamming into the commander and catapulting the pair into a tree.

Now inside his enemy's guard, Daichi went to work, tearing at the dark elf's defensive reserves with Touki and Senjutsu in equal measure. The commander attempted to swat Daichi off of him, but his smaller frame allowed a greater flexibility. Scratches began to adorn the chest of the dark elf as attacks began penetrating, the pair having fallen to the ground after Daichi shredded the elf's wings. With a cry of rage, the commander pulsed his magic, a wall of purple light exploding from him and sending Daichi somersaulting through the air with the force, his clothing singed slightly from the destructive nature of the mana.

Daichi laughed, his high, joyful childlike voice oddly discordant with the violence of the encounter. The pair charged each other, the commander swinging his polearm in a bid to bisect the demon child in front of him. Daichi flicked out two tails, pushing against the flat of the blade to send it soaring over his head as he ducked slightly and continued inside the guard, his crimson Touki coated his hands and the tips of his tails as he lashed out once more.

The dark elf dropped his weapon, both arms coming in to intercept and deflect the stabbing tails as he dropped low to avoid the hand blades the small demon was aiming at his chest, sending the attacks over his shoulders. Neither side hesitated, the dark elf going for a headbutt as Daichi simultaneously grabbed the back of the commander's head and pulled him in, directing the head to his shoulder while thrusting a crimson knee into his abdomen. He could hear the grunt of pain as air fled his opponent's lungs. Daichi disengaged, using the enemy's chest as a launch pad to separate but not before digging his claws into the back of the elf's head and shredding its skin and muscles along the side of its head all the way across its ears and cheeks.

Purple blood cascaded from its face as the commander screamed in pain, lashing out with a slice of magic that narrowly nicked Daichi's shoulder as he jumped away. He hissed in pain, eyes narrowed as the elf followed him, his eyes full of fury. Another blast of magic flew his way, Daichi deftly swerving along the ground to avoid it as he ran a circle around his prey. Blood had been drawn, the hunt was coming to a close.

The commander built up another attack, the magic coalescing around his dominant arm. Daichi took advantage of the moment, his Touki flaring brightly as explosions split the atmosphere.

The next instant showed the result of the confrontation.

Daichi's small arms were buried up to his elbows inside the elf's chest, his hands and claws poking through its back ever so slightly while two of his tails had pierced the commander's shoulders to keep his arms from moving to counter, the other two buried within the dark elf's neck. The purple magic built up within his enemy's arm chose that moment to discharge, disintegrating the limb and sending Daichi tumbling through the air in the resulting explosion, slamming him into a tree where he groaned from the impact. He rested only a moment to catch his breath. Reinforcements would be arriving any second.

The buzz of wings filled the air as his thoughts manifested, a squad of eighteen soldiers flooding into the area only to find their commander dead and Daichi slowly standing, a massive grin stretched across his face. He began laughing, the scene throwing off the newcomers long enough for Daichi to disperse his presence and step into a nearby shadow, his form fading from view as his laughter continued.

He made his way back to his camp at a much slower pace. The explosions had bruised and battered him more than he had let on during the fight and the gash on his shoulder was still bleeding, though it had slowed significantly now that he was able to focus on applying Senjutsu to rejuvenating his body. He trudged back to his cave's area to find Ullr seated on his normal log while munching on a bag of popcorn.

"Not bad kid. You succeeded. Lots of room for improvement though. You enjoy the fight more than the hunt, it makes you inefficient."

Daichi mumbled a rejection as he slumped heavily to the ground.

"I'd disagree. I enjoy both equally, I simply enjoy them differently."

"Oh?"

Daichi snorted.

"Yea. The hunt is patience and anticipation for the kill, the savage pleasure of felling prey. The fight is the struggle of life, the adrenaline and euphoria of success after proving your superiority."

Ullr grinned.

"Good. You've learned well these past weeks. I'll take you back to Asgard in two days. It's a Saturday, so it'll give you time to visit with your friends and acquire anything you'd like to bring back with you."

"Success is rewarded, failure is death, huh?"

Ullr laughed.

"Exactly, though death is a bit much. I think we both know that Freyja would skin me alive if I didn't bring you back in one piece."

Daichi hummed in doubt.

"I'm not so sure about that."

Ullr's grin stretched slightly farther but he retained his silence on the matter. It was less a question of Freyja's feelings on the subject and more of a difference in capability.

"Spend the rest of today and tomorrow healing up. You'll be coming back with a good amount of bounty savings," he hefted a pouch up, displaying it in his hand. "I've been collecting the ears of your victims for proof, and the horned crest of the commander. A bit barbaric, but physical evidence is required to receive payment. It'll give you plenty of spending money." The pouch vanished into thin air.

"Get some rest, kid. You've done some good work today."

Daichi simply nodded as Ullr vanished once more. He shimmied his way into the cave, promptly laying down and fading from the conscious world.

Ullr and Freyja both popped into existence in the next moment, the gods watching him sleep with warm smiles on both of their faces.

"He's becoming quite the little monster. He'll be a terrifying brat by the end of these months." The brat in question flicked his ears, his tails shifting around him in his sleep.

"Yes. You've done great work with him so far. Thank you, Ullr."

"None of that now, Queen of the Vanir. We long ago agreed on the price of my services. There will be no more favors or thanks necessary beyond what you've promised me already."

"Nevertheless, you've gone beyond what has been required of you in the agreement, and for that I am appreciative."

Ullr muttered out a response, the words reluctant but the tone far from negative.

"Yea, well, the brat grows on you. It helps that he has such a strong affinity for my teachings."

Freyja knelt with a soft smile and brushed some of Daichi's lengthening hair behind his fox ears.

"Yes. He does. He'll eventually become a force to be reckoned with, even for us. My little monster."

"So when are you going to tell him?"

Freyja looked up in confusion at the question.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, Freyja?" The confusion remained as Ullr stared at her in bewilderment.

"His divinity! The spark he received from his father, have you not been watching it?"

Freyja blinked, eyes widening as she turned her gaze on the sleeping child.

"He's evolving."

"That's putting it mildly. It appears almost as if he's establishing his divine domains, but that's not possible. Not at his current level of power." Freyja continued observing her little fox's aura and presence.

"It's almost as if he's pulling from _our _domains. He's spent years accumulating power, unlocking Senjutsu and Touki and building up his foundations. All that potential is reacting in conjunction with our own influence on him now that he's unleashing himself in this environment. It has the same appearance, almost as if we've blessed him, but neither of our marks are upon him. Fascinating."

"Fascinating?" Ullr stared at the goddess as she continued stroking the kid's head. "Freyja, the kid is already more powerful than he should be for his level. If he continues to grow, with what Inari said about the seventh tail's qualitative change in power level, he's going to become more than the little monster he is right now. He'll become an _actual_ monster. He obviously isn't a normal kitsune. We've been treating him like he is, but we kept failing to account for his divinity. His own perceptions of power are skewed from our own misinterpreted evaluations, while being surrounded by anomalies like that Rossweisse girl or the Christianity brats that he talks with."

Freyja frowned.

"You're right. Unfortunately, we can't correct it now."

"What? Why?"

"Currently, he's got it in his head that he's not as powerful as he really is. That's a good thing, at least for now. I don't want him picking fights he isn't ready for in an attempt to find his ceiling. He needs to spread his wings beneath the watchful eyes of those that would see him grow and prosper. Should he be discovered too soon, there are others that would see a potential threat and aim to remove it before it could take root."

Ullr was silent as he contemplated Freyja's words. He let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped.

"Yea. You're right. The bloody Hindu pantheon would have him slain immediately. Hel, even the Greeks could throw a fit if he isn't introduced in the right way. Allah wouldn't particularly care either way, he's still depressed about the Christian God's demise. The Egyptians have always been fairly isolationist, but even if they did take an interest, he's an animal so they'd probably support him. Set, Anubis, and Usir would all likely throw their weight behind him in an instant."

Freyja spoke up now.

"The Assyrians would be tough to persuade, and the Celtics would likely side with the Hindu, though the far eastern gods would likely support him simply because he originates from their areas of influence."

Ullr tisked.

"Old bastards. Tiamat isn't nearly as stodgy as the rest of them though. If he worked some of that charm he's got on her I'd be willing to bet she'd make the rest of them fall in line. I don't know why she masquerades around as a mere dragon king, but she's always been eccentric. You're correct about the Celts though. Those guys are assholes."

Freyja sighed as she stood from her kneeling position.

"You understand then, why it's important to keep him from the eyes of his enemies for as long as possible." Ullr gave a stoic nod. "He has the potential to be either the key to peace between the religious factions, or the explosive powder keg that sets the world ablaze."

The two vanished in the next instant, leaving Daichi to his dreams.

**A/N:**

Discord: discord dot gg/YNNwwvy

Anyone is welcome to join and hang out. I have idea teases for future fics and a lot of brainstorming that I do that shows how I go about setting up my characters and plot before I start writing, as well as some of my writing process for anyone who also writes or is thinking about writing.

Shout out to Aegis for beta reading this chapter!

**Darkxlunatiic** – I have several other fics that I've started already but haven't put much work into. Bleach would be a pretty difficult fandom to write for as well since I haven't refreshed myself on the source material in years. I can see the appeal, but I'm thinking I probably need to hit at least 100k words on the three I have going now before I look at other fandoms.

**Yukilumi** – You're right. I did. So I put it in this one instead with a bit more reasoning behind his thoughts and actions. Hope you liked it :)

All the Ullr details I put in outside of his personality are from actual myth as well. There's really not a lot known about him.

**Reader0007** – No, he's definitely not eating them lol Ullr is providing food.

**Middernacht** – Ehhh, probably not. That'd come across as a little contrived to get him involved in the canon story.

**Frankieu** – The details I put in about Ullr are all from actual myth, so I'm glad you liked it!

**Spacetojump **– It wasn't _just_ for the tits anyway lol

Everyone – thank you all for the continued support. The warm reception I've received by the fandom has been phenomenal so far, so thank you! For those still lurking along, please consider dropping a review of your thoughts on the story so far!


	14. Chapter 13

Discord: discord dot gg/YNNwwvy

**Chapter Thirteen**

Daichi was sprawled out across Freyja's office sofa, his phone in hand as he tapped away at the screen.

_Daichi: Sorry about being out of touch girls. Ullr kidnapped me to Alfheim for training and I just earned a day off today._

_Gabby: Little Fox! Freyja told us where you were but we were still worried!_

_Sera: Yea Dai-Tan! We're glad you're okay though!_

Daichi blinked at the added honorific. It looked as though Rias and Sona had started their forays into Japanese culture.

_Daichi: Yea, I'm okay. I've been learning a lot. Ullr is incredible. I just wanted to let you both know I have the day off, so if either of you are free, we can talk and catch up this evening._

_Sera: I'm free! And if I'm not I will be!_

Daichi smiled as he tapped out his response.

_Daichi: No playing hooky, Sera. We all know the Underworld would fall apart without you. If you don't have time, I should be available one day every weekend from now on, so we can figure something out to work with your schedule._

_Sera: Boooooo!_

The group chat received a picture of Serafall upside down in her desk chair with her tongue stuck out.

_Sera: Fine, but I want double talk time next weekend!_

_Gabby: That's fine with me. I'm free this evening, but next weekend I have to attend some stuffy congregation with the lesser angels. Michael is off managing the system, so Raphael and Uriel are in charge of all the mundane things and they never let me do anything._

His smile stretched a little further. It seemed Gabriel was going to need to vent a little. Michael treated her like an equal, but the ditsy façade she cultivated for everyone else worked a little too well, causing Raphael and Uriel to keep her away from normal affairs. It didn't help that she was their little sister so they all got a little over protective from time to time.

_Daichi: Sounds good :) I missed talking with both of you. I have to go for now, there's a lot of errands I need to run before Ullr shoves me back in that forest._

_Sera: Bye Dai-Tan!_

_Gabby: Talk to you soon :)_

He hit the home button to exit their chat and put the screen to sleep. It was early morning and he was currently lounging about while waiting for Rossweisse to show up as the goddess scribbled notes and signed papers. He was going to spend the day in the city together with his Rose and pick up supplies, a list of items he planned to purchase sticking out of his pocket. Ullr had taken him to the bounty processing building before dropping him off and handed over what roughly equated to twenty-five hundred USD in Asgardian coinage.

It didn't seem like much for the amount of work he had done over three weeks, but put into context of the soldiers and commanders ultimately being cannon fodder troops, the amount began to make a bit more sense. Regardless, it was more than enough to cover the costs of everything he wanted to make his stay in the forest significantly more comfortable.

Suddenly, Daichi lurched to his feet, his hair and fur puffed out and standing on end.

"Freyja."

"Yes, Little Fox?"

"Freyja, something's wrong."

It felt like fire crawling up his toes, not painful, but an immense heat that slowly began to creep up his body. Freyja looked up, glancing over him.

"Oh." She said.

"Oh! Shit!" She twisted her fingers, a burst of magic popping into existence at the motion, Ullr phasing into being within the room moments later. Daichi was already curled up on the ground, groaning as his claws clenched and unclenched into the carpet, the action in time with the fire that pulsed through his body, the sensation having already reached his belly.

"He's going into his first major bodily development!"

Ullr looked at her blankly as he glanced between her and his groaning student.

"He's starting puberty you dunderhead! Inari went over this! It's incredibly pronounced in Yako kitsune!"

"Oh." He said.

"Oh! Shit!" He reached down and grabbed Daichi by the back of his neck. "I'll take him back to Alfheim, it'll be safe for him to rampage and vent in the forests there." Black fur was beginning to sprout all over his body, his arms and legs already shifting to resemble his canid limbs.

"Hurry…" he ground out, his teeth grit in stress. "I can't… hold it back much longer." The pair of them popped out of existence, a piece of paper fluttering to the floor of Freyja's office.

"Heimdall, Alfheim, quickly please." The bridge guardian glanced down at a writhing and whimpering Daichi, his body now mostly resembling his natural fox state. He raised and dropped his sword, the clang resounding clearly. "Thank you," and then they were gone again, slamming back into existence within the forests of Alfheim.

"Daichi." He had begun thrashing in Ullr's grasp, still maintaining his small size, but rapidly losing control. Ullr grabbed the scruff of his neck, directing their eyes to meet. "Daichi, listen to me. We're in Alfheim, but I can't take you directly to the forest with you struggling like this. Control it, one more push, and you can let it out." His entire form locked up; muscles tensed to the maximum as his body shut down. Ullr's response was immediate, taking them close to their normal hunting area and setting Daichi on the ground.

The change was immediate and violent, his size instantly ballooning to his current full stature at six meters tall to the top of his head. He turned with a snarling bite, attempting to chomp down on Ullr's hands while his four tails whipped out and began shattering tree trunks in the surrounding area. Ullr jumped and gave Daichi's front shoulder a firm kick, his frenzied mind finally registering his freedom as he took off into the trees.

Ullr let out a long sigh.

"Fuuuuuuuck. It's going to be a huge pain in the ass if he runs into any of the light elf villages." He let out another sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Better keep up then to keep him moving in the right direction." His eyes began to glow slightly as he peered into the trees. "Damnit he's fast. Why the hell did she let him learn Senjutsu and Touki first? This is going to be such a pain in the ass!" He vanished without a sound in the next moment.

Daichi was burning. His entire body felt as if he was sitting within an inferno and all he wanted to do was _break, kill, fuck!_ His impulses and instincts were running haywire as his body overloaded on new unfamiliar hormones. His conscious mind was still present and aware, it was just stifled under a flood of other stimuli while also ensuring he didn't accidentally begin pulling from the negative aspects of his Senjutsu. This resulted in allowing his animal counterpart to run rampant. He continued running at a breakneck pace for several minutes, crashing through the undergrowth while aiming to get as far away from the hunter chasing him as he could. The first dark elf patrol he encountered he practically bowled over, his size slamming two out of the air that were immediately crushed beneath his paws, his tails whipping out as he passed, bisecting the remaining four.

His demeanor shifted. With the scent of blood in his nose, he was on the hunt now. A subtle shift in direction had him colliding with another group seconds later, dispatching them just as quickly as the first. A third group soon followed, then a fourth. His rampage through the forest continued unabated, his lips curled up in a vicious grin, razor sharp teeth exposed for the world to see as his snout swiveled back and forth, constantly scenting the air in a bid for new prey.

It wasn't long until he found the camp and immediately set to razing it. Nature rose up at his command, roots and vines spearing out or wrapping up those too slow or weak to escape. Daichi himself was a whirlwind of death, his claws swiping dark elves out of the air as if he was swatting insects. His tails never ceasing movement as they struck out in endless flurries, his entire body coated in the crimson of his Touki as he laid waste to the camp. Dark elven soldiers took to fleeing in droves, their lack of a strong authority to organize them becoming their downfall. Those that made it to the trees found no respite, the inanimate limbs coming to life in order to reap it from Daichi's enemies. The few that managed to escape did so only by flying up and over the tree tops, their fear a delicious stench that Daichi practically feasted on as rolling laughter shook his body, the adrenaline high of combat and fully unleashing himself upon his enemies submerging his addled mind in euphoria. It was only due to the small voice of reason and habit amidst the sea of chaos in his head holding firm that kept him from devolving fully into a ravenous, mad beast.

Thirty minutes later, Daichi stood panting heavily amidst a charnel house of bodies and equipment. Over two hundred soldiers had fallen, the rest fleeing in terror. The burn had subsided to a dull permeating itch now that he had exhausted himself both physically and magically. With a bit more control over his senses, Daichi channeled a trickle of restorative Senjutsu throughout his battered body. He was covered in small cuts, scrapes, and bruises that had managed to slip through his protective layers of Touki and fur.

With one last glance around the demolished area, Daichi limped his way in the direction of his camp. A sudden weight appearing on his back nearly sent him into conniptions again, his mind sitting on a razors edge from the combination of near insanity and frantic combat. The only thing that stopped him was Ullr's well-known scent hitting his nose, though the drop in posture and wound up muscles were a dead giveaway that he had been less than a moment away from indiscriminately attacking.

"My bad kid. It's been a while since I've been in a true life or death struggle. Kinda forgot about the adrenaline high and heightened state that typically follows." Daichi simply huffed and continued moving between the trees.

"But damn if you aren't big. I can't wait to see you fully grown. You really brought the pain to those bugs and you're only what? Half the size you'll grow into? You should hear what the survivors are calling you. I can't wait to tell Sköll he's got a new son! It's already spreading in the other nearby camps!" Ullr let out a deep rolling chuckle. "Seeing the big bad Dökkálfar whisper in fear is pretty refreshing, even if it's the dregs. I'll have to bring you back out here in a few years to hunt their generals. That'll _really_ get them talking." He broke out into loud laughter, Daichi finally arriving at the camp and slumping to the ground in exhaustion. He was asleep before his head hit his paws.

Freyja arrived moments later with a teenage Rossweisse in tow to find Ullr comfortably reclined atop Daichi's back as he slept.

"I see he managed to work out most of the initial wave. Inari said it would be much more manageable after the first. He should be fine, for the most part, though he'll likely be incredibly horny for the next few weeks. This initial flood will only last a month or so before receding to normal levels, then he'll only have a much tamer occurrence once every few years. Although… he will definitely start to acquire a healthy sex drive." Rossweisse was blushing crimson by the end of Freyja's explanation but nevertheless went up and began gently combing her fingers through Daichi's thick fur around his ears. As she cuddled into him, he unconsciously gently nuzzled into her, her familiar scent pulling a reaction from his subconscious. Freyja watched on with a smile hidden behind her hand.

"How cute." She quickly pulled out her phone and snapped a couple pictures. "It's almost like seeing that mortal fairy tale, beauty and the beast." Ullr had arrived next to her silently, unnoticed as Rossweisse focused on smoothing out areas of damaged or knotted fur, applying herbal poultice infused with various runic formulas to increase its potency to any remaining open cuts she could find in the process.

"They're good for each other. He keeps her out of her shell while she acts as a moderating influence on his more impulsive desires. They have a good balance."

Freyja cast Ullr a glance of humorous consideration.

"Why, Ullr, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you just gave a girl approval to date your most precious child."

"Be silent woman." The words were hostile but the tone was anything but. "He's already got a new dad; he doesn't need a third." Ullr snickered as Freyja cocked her head as if listening to something very distant before another smile creeped up her face.

"Ah. Yes, I'd imagine Sköll will be fairly amused once he hears. How about Uncle Ullr then? It has a nice ring to it, rolls off the tongue." Her hand had returned to hiding her smirk as Ullr rolled his eyes.

"Fine, fine, woman. I approve of the girl, now lay off, would ya? She's got brains and the ability to use 'em, and he's got the cunning and firepower to mix it all together into a potent powder keg. The supernatural world will have some interesting times on the horizon."

"Yes. Interesting times, indeed."

The pair watched as Rossweisse returned to Daichi's head and began stroking him again.

"Ah, before I forget." Freyja took out a pouch. "This has all of the items he planned to go shopping for today."

Ullr gave the bag a long look.

"I'm half tempted to make him go without for another week since he didn't get it himself."

"If you're thinking this is me spoiling him, it was actually his Little Rose that did the buying with his money. She managed to find some excellent deals as well. I might have to ask her for some spending tips, she's very thrifty." Ullr gave a humph.

"I suppose I'll let it slide this time then."

"Careful, if anyone else heard that they'd think you were going soft." Freyja teased him. Ullr snorted.

"Let them. I'd be glad to prove my fangs and claws are sharper than ever." Freyja cast an appraising glance over him at his words, her voice falling in volume.

"You progressed?"

Ullr gave a big grin in response.

"Turns out you can learn a lot in the process of teaching."

"I see." She had a soft smile on her lips as she continued watching her student pamper her unwitting charge. "I'll leave her here for now. If he wakes up before the day is done, keep an eye on them and if he's in control you can bring him back to Asgard. I believe he has a call scheduled for this evening with someone who would feel particularly disappointed if he missed it." Ullr gave a nod and Freyja vanished in the next instant.

**A/N:**

Got a little burnt out from busting out content so quickly, so I took a small break. I'll be transitioning back to a Friday release schedule to hopefully avoid this in the future and build up a chapter log if I do any extra writing to try and avoid another break.

Fun Facts: Sköll is one of two wolves that chase either the sun or moon across the sky and is destined to eat his target during Ragnarok. His name literally means the One Who Mocks, so the Dark Elves (the Dökkálfar, not to be mistaken with the dwarves who are also often called Dark Elves) calling him a child or son of Sköll is a fun tidbit I thought would be interesting since he would be known by the camp as the laughing beast after he killed their commander.

Had a lot of hype and questions about Tiamat last chapter, so I'll condense that into one comment here. Tiamat was done dirty in the canon material and her original mythology is literally the creator of the universe and everything in it within Assyrian faith. Yea, she's sexy. I don't know if I'm picturing her the same as FGO's Tiamat since there's canon source for her human appearance.

**Regnas Bredvolts** – Skadi might eventually show up, but not in the current arc. Ullr and Freyja are already pretty large overkill for training. I actually figured Set would be the most likely to throw behind Daichi. He gets to piss off a bunch of other gods and support a mischievous upcoming demigod. That being said, all gods would have some ulterior agenda for supporting or hindering Daichi.  
The Hindu pantheon is the canonical big bad guys, so they want to kill everyone unfortunately. A rising demigod is a potential future problem to nip in the bud early. 

**Everyone - **I've mentally divided up the world into nice easy religious chunks which I believe was also done in the source material for ease of writing. You have the Far East religions and myths, Buddhism being the predominant pantheon in that area. From there, traveling west, we have Hinduism in India and the surrounding area, Islam and Assyrian gods in the Middle East, Christianity and Judaism (which I understand are different, but fundamentally worship the same God at their core) in the Slavic/European/North American areas that are not covered by the Grecian, Celtic, or Nordic myth, Egyptian myth in Africa, and Native American myth in North and South America – to include Aztec, Mayan, and other Native Indian tribe gods that I'm currently forgetting.

I realize this is a _vastly _over simplified structure, but for purposes of writing it creates a basis for a seat of power in each faith/mythology.


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

They were standing on the Bifrost, Inari waiting patiently as Daichi said his goodbyes to the small group that had come to see him off. He had finished his training with Ullr two days prior and had immediately received word from his dad that Daichi had completed the goals set for him in Asgard and he would be coming to take him back to Japan. Gondul, Freyja, and Ullr looked on with matching smiles as Rossweisse latched on to Daichi, tears streaming down her face.

"I-I-I'm go-i-ing to m-miss yoooouuu!"

Daichi gave the adults a smile as he squeezed Rossweisse into his chest and shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you too, but I'm not leaving forever, dork. Heimdall already said he'd pick me up with the Bifrost, so I can come visit occasionally." He wrapped her up with his tails as well, using the tips to dry her cheeks and eyes. The native Asgardians all exchanged a glance before shooting matching questioning looks over at the always watchful bridge guard whose expression remained as stoic as ever.

"I-I know. But still!"

"Besides, without me here to distract you, you can finally finish graduating your academics early." He gave her a cocky smirk. "You're going to have to step it up with your Rune work if you wanna keep up with me." She gave him a light slap to the shoulder.

"Be nice. I'm still leagues ahead of you in magic." He chuckled as she finally eased up on the tears.

"Yep, but you're going to have to work to stay that way. I'm not well suited to studying Nordic Runes, but I'll be learning my native Youjutsu soon, so that might change." She glared at him, her eyes accepting his challenge as she squeezed him tighter. His tails came up and wrapped around their heads, hiding them from view as he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips. It was only a light peck, but the message was clear as he whispered next to her ear.

"To remember me by. I'll come visit soon." Rossweisse was a silent, blushing mess as they gave each other one last squeeze and separated, his tails returning to lazily weaving at his back.

"Brat, I hope you plan to take responsibility for taking advantage of my Little Rose."

"Granny G, I'd never take advantage of _my_ Little Rose. If anything, she's taking advantage of me!" He gave the older Valkyrie a big grin and a hug as she knocked her knuckles against his skull.

"Behave, brat, and don't get into trouble down on Midgard." At his smirk she corrected herself. "Or… at least, don't get into more trouble than normal."

"I can only promise to try."

"I suppose I'll have to accept that." She let out a sigh as he moved on to Freyja who swooped down and lifted him up in a giant hug.

"It's going to be much quieter around here with you gone, my little fox."

"You mean it's going to be a lot more boring."

"That's what I said." The pair shared chuckles as they held each other tight.

"I'm going to miss you, little fox."

"I'm going to miss you too, my goddess. I'll be back in a few months once I've gotten a handle on Youjutsu for a quick visit. Learning my native magic and setting up a supernatural bounty hunting gig will take a while, but I'm going to need to start acquiring more essence or my progress will stagnate." Freyja let out a sigh as she set him back down.

"I know. Text me once you've finished establishing the company and I'll send over a few of our posted contracts to get you started." He gave her a big grin.

"Thanks, Freyja." She simply smiled as he turned to Ullr.

With a quick burst of Touki he reached out and sack tapped the god who immediately fell to his knees clutching his groin with a groan of pain.

"That was for having me square off against the general and only pulling me out after he knicked the end off of one of my tails." Luckily it grew back thanks to liberal applications of healing runes and Senjutsu.

"Yea," Ullr grunted. "That's fair." Daichi was on a roll, venting his grievances as he glared at the god.

"I would have been fine if you hadn't just dropped me in there suddenly. I could barely keep up with his attacks! The only reason I managed as long as I did was luck and liberal use of Touki."

"But you _did_ manage." He stated as he stood, shaking off the pain as if it hadn't existed. "It was a double lesson. There's always someone stronger, but if you push yourself you can survive anything. Those were the final things I wanted to make sure you learned."

"I _know_ that, but I'm still pissed at you for it."

"Fine, fine." Ullr ruffled Daichi's extremely long hair which he had taken to tying up in a ponytail. "You did good, kid. You were a good student. Gimme a call when you hit six tails and I'll take you back out there to get even."

"You better believe it." Daichi growled, eyes narrowed as he envisioned ripping the dark elven general a few new holes.

"Take it easy, kid. Don't give your new teacher a bunch of trouble."

"Yea, yea. I got it, old man." The pair shared a fist bump.

"You are the hunter. Don't let the prey forget it."

Daichi returned to Inari's side where the fox god placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ready?"

Daichi gave one last wave to the group who all returned the gesture at various intensities.

"Yea… yea, I'm ready."

Inari gave Heimdall a nod and the two vanished in a flash of light.

The group stood there for a few moments longer until Gondul broke the silence.

"Alright, Rose. Come along, your boyfriend will be fine. We need to start planning out your Advanced Runic Studies so you can finally begin university."

"Yes, grandmother." Gondul's wings materialized and she lifted Rossweisse in her arms while turning to address Freyja and Ullr.

"My lord, my lady, by your leave."

"Of course, Gondul. Let me know if you need anything." Freyja gave her a smile while Ullr simply waved.

"Yes, my lady. Thank you." Then the pair took off and quickly vanished from sight.

"Heimdallr." Ullr spoke once Gondul was out of earshot. The wielder of Gjallarhorn did not respond, his eyes turned outward. "We need to have a chat, buddy." Heimdallr's voice rolled out, resonating and deep.

"You both should be more careful when allowing demigods to associate with our pantheon for extended periods." The pair in question shared a glance and a blink. In an unnatural show of emotion, Heimdallr turned and gave them a flat stare.

"He is now associated with our pantheon. The Dökkálfar gave him a name, and names hold power, no matter how minor it may be. You both know this. He is granted passage to Asgard when he wants it because he is now part of our family." He turned back to surveying the endless expanse beyond Asgard's protections. "The cannon fodder whisper of the Black Demon that haunts their forests, while the generals grumble about the Demon Fox that mock their attempts to slay him. Why you thought it was a good idea to move him to new areas every few weeks, I do not know. It only perpetuated the rise of his reputation."

"That's the most you've spoken in centuries."

"I don't even know why I bother." Heimdallr grumbled to himself.

"It should be fine. He won't be returning to the forests for some time, so the connection will eventually sever itself." Freyja reassured them.

Ullr glanced between the two, suddenly doing his best to remain inconspicuous without outright fleeing which Freyja instantly noticed.

"Ullr." She sighed. "What did you do?" He blinked.

"I didn't do anything." Heimdallr turned back around to stare at him accusingly.

"Fine! Fine! I did something! But it isn't what you're thinking!"

"Well? What is it?" Freyja was staring at him with narrowed eyes, presence threatening.

"I may… have… given him my blessing?"

Freyja face palmed while Heimdallr groaned.

"If he ever ascends, Hoori is going to be pissed."

"Nah, he won't have a hunting domain, or if he does it'll be minor."

"You gave him your main blessing?! That's even worse!" Freyja was pacing now, while Heimdallr had decided this was no longer his problem and had returned to staring out into the worlds. Ullr just shrugged in complacency.

"He was a good student. Given time and resources, he'll be an amazing god of Dominion." Freyja stopped and recomposed herself.

"I need to make plans." With that, she vanished. Ullr glanced over at Heimdall who was studiously ignoring him at this point.

"It can't possibly be as bad as she's making it out to be, right?"

"Not for you. Or really anyone but the Shinto, of which Freyja has been cultivating better relationships and ties between us with the help of Inari. The main consequence comes from having him split between two pantheons. The power of a potential future domain is secondary, considering you already hold the prime domain within our own, though it will ultimately matter little, considering he will hold a minor sway beneath you within our pantheon, and a major sway within the Shinto as they do not have a god based purely on Dominion." Heimdallr glanced over at Ullr who was looking very satisfied with himself.

"Maybe all those Shinto lay-abouts will finally get off their asses if a new god comes in and shakes things up. They've been very static over the centuries, and Dominion is always hungry, always improving, always expanding." Freyja popped back into existence next to them.

"Ullr, you caused this, so you're helping." She gripped his shoulder and they vanished before either god could react. Heimdall peered out, focusing down on Midgard as he watched the topic of their discussion stroll through the palace of the Kyoto youkai next to his father.

"Interesting times, indeed…"

* * *

Daichi's steps were completely silent as he kept pace next to Inari through Yasaka's palace halls. They were both soundless, their presence equally dispersed into the background making them invisible to supernatural senses. Inari covered them both with an application of Youjutsu, an illusion springing to life around them with a gesture to hide them from the eyes of the palace staff as they made their way to the throne room.

"Ullr and Freyja taught you well." Inari gave him an approving nod as he evaluated his spawn's abilities.

"Thanks, Dad. I'm guessing you didn't want me using Nordic runes for my own illusion to avoid detection?" He received a nod of confirmation in response.

"The Youjutsu I used will go completely undetected and be chalked up to a spike in background noise. Utilizing another pantheon's power system would send alarms ringing instantly."

"I see. Why are we sneaking anyway? Isn't this practically your own home?" Inari gave Daichi a raised eyebrow.

"Theatrics, m'boy, of course! Being a god is incredibly boring, we have to find our entertainment somewhere!" Daichi gave him a flat look before an idea crossed his mind.

"Can I – "

"No. No scaring Yasaka or Kunou. There's a heavy negative stigma against Yako kitsune, so you need to make a good first impression to both of them and their court. The mischief can come later." Daichi sighed in defeat, shoulder slumping.

"I understand."

"Good. Once you've broken through to seven tails you can have free reign throughout the mortal world, but until then you need to play it safe."

"Got it. I'll need to spend some time setting up my company then so I can start building essence again. I feel like I'm only about halfway to my fifth tail."

"Yes. Mastering Youjutsu and Kasha will likely provide the essence necessary for your fifth tail's manifestation, but beyond that you'll need to take your essence and growth into your own hands. Once you successfully perform some services for Asgard, Freyja will be able to spread word and expand your reputation to other pantheons. It'll have a cascading effect, allowing you to progress at your own pace once you've established yourself and are regularly receiving a spread of bounty contracts."

"Sounds simple in theory. It will all hinge on my own abilities and success."

"Yes. Succeed and prosper, fail and fall to obscurity. Those are the doors, be silent for now." Daichi did as instructed, keeping his presence dispersed but paying attention as Inari dropped his illusion and flared his own presence. The guards at attention beside the doors instantly fell to a knee, Inari never pausing as the doors flung themselves open to allow them both entry to the hall. Yasaka was already rising from her throne at the opposite end of the room, the court rapidly bending head and knee as Inari paced to the front of the room. A young Kunou stood behind her mother clutching her skirt and peering around the edge to stare.

Yasaka stepped down from the dais and bowed her head at Inari's approach, Daichi going completely unnoticed as he trailed a step behind him, his presence still dispersed. Kunou finally popped out, running up to Inari with big wide eyes once she fully recognized him.

"Grampa!" She launched herself through the air and into his arms like a tiny golden missile where he deftly caught her, hoisting her onto his hip, his stride completely uninterrupted.

"Little Kunou, I see you've grown since I last visited. Yasaka, raise your head. It makes conversations difficult when half the people refuse to look at you when speaking." All of his words were said with a smile. Daichi muttered out from beside him.

"Grampa? I'm going to have to start calling you old man instead of Dad. That's just weird now." Yasaka's ears twitched, her eyes darting to finally lock onto the black haired kitsune beside the progenitor, widening as she finally registered his existence and the four weaving tails trailing behind him.

"You… Yako?" Her eyes returned to Inari with confusion. Daichi dropped his Senjutsu, presence returning to the low mutterings of the rest of the still kneeling audience. He muttered under his breath so only those closest could hear him.

"Did I manage to do it right, old geezer?" Inari snorted in response.

"Yes, brat. That was perfect. You've got a talent for the dramatic."

Kunou peeked around Inari's front, looking down from her perch to spot Daichi for the first time. With a gasp and a wiggle, Inari set her down where she practically teleported in front of Daichi. With starry eyes she looked him over.

"Big brother?!" Yasaka looked on in wary concern as Daichi glared at Inari who was snickering. "Big brother! Why is your fur black? And why do you only have four tails? Why not nine like me and my mommy? What's your name? Where have you been? Did Grampa find you?" Daichi dropped a hand on her head to make her stop talking.

"What's your name?"

"Oh! Kunou is Kunou!"

"Nice to meet you Kunou. I'm Daichi."

"Big brother Daichi!" She gave him a huge sunny grin that he couldn't very well refuse. This childlike Kunou was an unstoppable force of cute.

"Sure. My fur is black because I'm a different kind of kitsune than you or your mom. Both of you are very special, it's why you both have nine tails, and why I only have four at the moment." Kunou cocked her head in confusion.

"At the moment? Different? Special?" Yasaka cut in at this point.

"Kunou, why don't you wait and let Grampa explain everything."

"Oh. Okay Mommy!" She practically skipped back to Yasaka's side.

Daichi finally took a moment to full evaluate the golden fox in front of him. The first thing that struck him, surprisingly, were her piercing eyes. There was kindness there, but it was tempered behind wary caution and her regal bearing. She was undoubtedly beautiful as most powerful supernatural beings were, her golden hair shimmered and accented the sharp contours of her face. It was almost needless to comment on how explosive her chest was. Her breasts were massive and on display for the world to see with how loosely casual she wore her yukata. The rest of her was hidden from view behind that same garment, though her nine golden tails notably flickered and weaved behind her in similar patterns to her daughter. Inari spoke while Daichi surveyed the woman before him.

"Kunou, Daichi is a Yako kitsune. It means he's a different type than you, because you and your mother are Zenko kitsune. You and your mother are a bit special, even for Zenko though, since your family is born with nine tails. Most other kitsune have to slowly earn more tails over time. Daichi is very smart for his age, so he's earned three of his very quickly, so I've brought him to you and your mother so he can continue to grow more powerful."

"Oh. I see. That makes sense. So big brother Daichi is going to be living with us for a while?"

"If your mother says it's okay, yes, Daichi will be staying with both of you while she teaches him Youjutsu and Kasha." Kunou immediately rounded on her mother, eyes wide as she put on her best puppy dog face.

"Can he stay, Mom? Please!"

"When did I become a pet?" Daichi muttered under his breath, Inari thumping him on the head faster than anyone could notice. Yasaka gave a sigh, addressing Inari.

"If he's with you, and you're vouching for him, I'm assuming he isn't… a normal Yako?" Inari shook his head in response.

"No. I'd never endanger you or Kunou if he was. He's a bit mischievous, and I have no doubt he'll become more…" he glanced down at Kunou who was paying close attention to the conversation. "…more interested in girls than normal in a few years, especially since he's already gone through his first heat, but he's not needlessly violent." He glanced over at Daichi who was intentionally looking studiously disinterested and bored as he surveyed the area. "He's a devious and cunning little - " he cut himself off as he caught his words, glancing back and Kunou for a moment. " – little fox, but he's not mean-spirited or evil by any means."

"I see. If he has your confidence, then I'll trust your word and take him into my care."

"I appreciate it, Yasaka."

"Nonsense, old man. We're the closest thing to divine foxes still around, so we're practically family. This can't even be counted as a favor." She gave the god a warm smile which he returned.

"I knew I favored you for a reason." He turned to Daichi. "Behave, squirt. Try not to seduce either of them too quickly, as well. You need to be able to support them and bring something to the table in the relationship before I'll give you my blessing for these two." Daichi gave him a deadpan look.

"Geezer, if you aren't careful, you're going to end up with a bunch of new little grandchildren running around simply out of my spite." Inari ruffled Daichi's hair.

"I know you aren't so irresponsible. Plus, you need to develop a few more years. Once you manifest your seventh tail, I'll let you run wild."

"Your words, old man. I've got a court full of witnesses too." They shared a mutual grin.

"Learn quickly, Daichi. I have plans that you and your future company will be able to help with."

"Yea, yea, pops, I got it. Scram already so I can get to work on Youjutsu." Inari gave Yasaka one last wink before he turned and took a step, vanishing the next instant. The court gradually came back to life as the Youkai in attendance returned to their feet. Yasaka gestured for Daichi to follow her as she returned to her seat, Kunou standing on her left and Daichi flanking her right.

"Silence." The court obeyed. "As you all undoubtedly just heard, I'll be taking Daichi as my new charge and student for the foreseeable future. Treat him as you would Kunou. That'll be all for today. We will reconvene tomorrow after I settle our new guest." The crowd did as instructed, chattering between each other in excitement as they filed out of the hall. Once the last of the masses had departed, leaving only Yasaka's closest advisor and the three kitsune, did someone speak up.

"Kunou, why don't you go play while I show Daichi around and help him get settled into a room?"

"Okay, mother!" She scampered off giving Daichi an excited wave as she went. Only once she was out of earshot did Yasaka turn to Daichi.

"Alright, Yako. I know Inari vouched for you, but we still need to set some ground rules." Daichi smiled impassively at her.

"I won't corrupt your innocent little girl. My pranks are almost entirely harmless, you can ask Freyja herself if you'd like, since she's the one that's been taking care of me for the last few years. In fact, I'll even promise to protect her and treat her well, as if she was actually my little sister. She's adorable, it's no fur off my tails." Yasaka looked him over with a critical eye before relaxing and giving him a genuine smile.

"I see. Inari was right, you are special. Follow me, I'll get you situated in the room next to mine and Kunou's, then show you the kitchen, library, and my study. We'll start your education tomorrow."

**A/N:**

Pretty long chapter this time. Getting closer to the first original arc of the story where we'll get to see Daichi run around hunting down bounties. Lots of action and relationship cultivation and development in the near future!

**Ashzaroth **– I'm mostly letting the story run its course, though at the current pace we'll likely be hitting canon within the next ten chapters, though that's only a guesstimate since I might get caught up in an arc and spread it over more chapters, so don't take that number as a solid answer.

**Reader0007 **– Overkill meant that he was already being trained by two gods, adding in a third for skills he was already learning with the current two would be a disservice to the story. A pointless character addition just to have her be associated with the MC. In this story, Yahweh and God are the same entity. Allah is separate.

**Dxl –** I'm not so sure something like that could work within the defined power constraints of canon. Everything is pretty cut and dry as far as power separation is concerned.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

This was the third night in a row Daichi found himself skulking about the streets of Kyoto. There had been a sudden hash of child disappearances, both human and supernatural in the area, so when Daichi had overheard Yasaka discussing the problem with one of her advisors, he knew this was his opportunity to begin establishing a positive reputation for his future occupation as a Problem Solver. It took a little bit of convincing, but he managed to smooth talk the pair into agreeing at the time that it couldn't hurt to have another pair of eyes looking over the situation.

What he had not told them was he was planning to use himself as bait for whatever had taken to abducting children. He was still young enough to fall within his target's predilections, and so he had taken to going out at night and strolling through the neighborhoods in areas where the most disappearances had occurred. He had his tails and ears covered in a Youjutsu illusion, one of the first spells Yasaka had instructed him on in order to allow him to blend in to human society beyond the sanctuary barriers that hid much of the Yokai population.

He paused in the middle of the street, the fur on his tails puffing out slightly as a chill passed down his spine. He wasn't alone any longer. He gave the wind an inconspicuous sniff, scenting his prey. It smelled of blood and death, but not the kind that was earned on a battlefield. It was closer to that of a butcher. The roles of hunter and hunted changed sides in that moment, a savage grin spreading across his face as he looked over his shoulder to a shadowed gate.

"Found you."

Creepy giggles echoed down the street.

"You're mistaken, child. _I_ have found _you_." Cackles followed her words as the warped visage of a woman stepped from the dark into the light of a nearby lamp post. Her eyes glowed a harsh yellow, twisted horns curved upward from her temples, while her face was stretched and shrunken, almost seeming to have had her features' locations swirled around randomly. Daichi fully turned to face his target.

"Ohhhh! A Kijo! It's pretty rare to find one of you in a city. You must be shacked up in one of the abandoned warehouses near here." The cackles ceased abruptly as a look of wariness finally settled into the malicious yokai's visage.

"You are not a normal child."

"Well, duh. Yasaka's enforcers need to step up their game if they struggled to find such a slow minded monster such as you." His insults seemed to hit the mark as the Kijo's already twisted face twisted further into a disgusting approximation of a snarl.

"That big tit bimbo and her lackeys."

"Hey, those are some nice boobs, and she's very smart. Take it back."

The monstrous woman gave out a shriek as she finally lost her patience.

"Enough! Child! I will take you just as I took the others! Come play with meeeeeeee!"

She went from standing to a forward sprint instantaneously, shooting towards Daichi who casually remained standing where he was. Her claws reached out, ready to grasp his arms to his sides to restrain him and dig into the soft flesh of his back and stomach. Daichi finally shifted, his feet sliding forward slightly as his fist became coated in crimson Touki. His fist met her face in the next instant, the impact stopping her dead in her tracks for a brief moment before flinging her head over heels into a nearby wall. Daichi shook his hand out.

"Sturdy skull. I guess it makes sense for you to be thick headed though." A shriek sounded out from the pile of rubble that had collapsed on top of her, a shadow bursting from the rocks sending debris flying throughout the area. "Running already? I only hit you once though…" Daichi sighed in disappointment as his eyes tracked the shadow that raced away across the rooftops as he muttered under his breath. "Well, at least I'll be able to find her lair too. Might be able to save a couple of the kids. That'd make Yasaka and Kunou happy." A brief crimson shimmer coated his feet as he stepped, bursting into motion to follow the trail of his prey. The lack of a fight had left him irritated, but his predator instincts began to flare as his prey fled before him, his grin returning as he followed behind at a more relaxed pace, occasionally scenting the air to ensure he was on the correct trail.

His earlier guess was proven correct as he landed in front of a series of storage warehouses several minutes later, most looking somewhat worse for wear. He gave a small sniff. The trail was being covered up in this area, but it didn't matter. The subtle metallic tang of blood could still be easily found, the more generic scent leading him to a notably more rundown building within the complex. The windows were already busted out, so with an easy hop, Daichi was perched on a windowsill and peering within, his eyes easily adjusting to the increased gloom. His grin returned, eyes glowing as the moon at his back illuminated his silhouette.

"Hello, little rabbit. You ran awfully fast." A hissing shriek was the only reply he received as he dropped to the floor within the building, his ears and tails becoming visible as he shed his illusion, his tails weaving behind him as he stalked forward. Now that he was actually at the scene the scent of blood was much stronger, though there was little in the way of physical evidence. Glancing around the rather barren space, Daichi stuck his nose out and inhaled, taking a deep, slow breath. He put a hand on his chin as he hummed in thought.

"Interesting." He took a smaller whiff of the air then took several steps forward where he took another quick sniff. "Warmer." He kept moving, a few steps in one direction, sniff, a few steps in another, sniff, until he was finally staring down at a section of the concrete floor.

"You know," he spoke aloud to his sole audience peering down at him from the rafters. "If this was a game, this would be the point where I had to solve a puzzle or find the secret switch to open this smuggler's door, maybe taking the time to torture it out of you if I had to. It's a good thing it isn't and I can just kill you and use magic to rip it open." Her response was a shriek, though it was cut off, a garbled choking replacing it as Daichi vanished and reappeared atop the beam his prey had been perched, a crimson coated hand grasping her throat. His tails struck out in succession, the tips piercing joints and shredding tendons as she moved to thrash and scratch, his grin stretching to display all of his incredibly sharp teeth as a pained whimper escaped his prey's throat.

"I don't normally play with my food, but I'm making an exception for you. Child predators are a particularly disgusting breed, no matter the species or race. Don't worry. You won't suffer long." He stared into the monster's eyes as he tightened his grip, crushing her windpipe then dropping her to the ground two stories below where she landed awkwardly with a crunch. Daichi turned his attention back to the hidden door as he lightly returned to the floor.

"Now… let's see…" He paced around the edges of the mechanism for a few moments as the sounds of choking and thrashing continued behind him. It wasn't long before silence returned to the warehouse. Daichi glanced over his shoulder at the still corpse, sighing and giving a shrug. "Brute force it is. I'll have to learn some telekinesis or something more subtle soon. I doubt I'll always be able to blow up or bash in whatever obstacles show up."

He spread his stance, bracing himself as he reinforced his right hand and arm with Touki. With a grunt of exertion, he slammed a punch downward, shattering the concrete below him and forming a small crater, the concrete coating the concealed entrance crumbling away and falling down into the cavity below. Daichi gave a hum of consideration.

"I held back too much. One more punch should shatter enough." True to his words, one more solid blow blew open a large enough opening for him to comfortably descend the stairs into the dark below. The stench of blood and death became much more prevalent the moment he passed the threshold, his nose crinkling in disgust as he rounded a corner. Blood covered the walls, shreds of flesh and organs flung about the room.

"Was she fucking eating them? Even for a Kijo that's fucked up," he murmured as he did his best to filter the smell through his t-shirt. A few animal cages and kennels could be seen along the edges of the room, most of which were empty, though in one towards the end he spotted a small bundle huddled against the wall shift. "Must have been an endangered animal smuggling station once upon a time." He muttered to himself, stepping carefully through the gore as he made his way towards the caged child. With a couple quick gestures, a ball of light popped into existence above his head, fully illuminating the room. He stared down into the kennel, a pair of chocolate brown eyes staring up at him in terror from beneath a pile of rags.

"Hello there." He flicked his finger in the direction of the stairs. "I killed the bad monster. You're safe now." With a single crimson claw, he cut open the metal, peeling it back to open the crate before stepping back. "Oh. I'm Daichi. Nice to meet you, squirt… even if you're too terrified to actually speak." He muttered the second half under his breath as he returned to looking around the room. "Man… this place is disgusting." He took a few steps back towards the stairs before realizing the kid had yet to move from their spot within their cage. "Come on, brat. I've gotta call my employer to come clean all this shit up." His words finally spurred a muttered response that he failed to hear. He cocked one of his ears back in the kid's direction, pointing to it as he responded. "Speak up, squirt, and get out of there. This place is unsanitary."

"You shouldn't say bad words."

Daichi gave a nonplussed blink.

"I'm standing in a room literally covered in blood after I just finished brutally killing a child eating monster. My language is the last thing I'm worried about. Now hurry up, or I'll leave you in here." With that, he continued, fully intent on exiting the room so he could give Yasaka a call. Sounds of scrabbling and rustling movement could be heard behind him as he reached the stairs, the kid dashing after him, a hesitant hand going out to clutch the bottom of his shirt as he made his way up the stairs.

At the top the kid paused, wide eyes glued to the body of their kidnapper. Daichi placed a hand on… her? He gave the kid a once over, the rags covering them doing very little to spare their modesty. Her. Definitely her. He grasped her shoulder, gently steering her to one of the few objects in the room, placing her atop an old crate in a corner. Once the kid was settled, Daichi whipped out his cellphone, speed dialing Yasaka.

"Good evening. What? What do you mean, 'why am I calling'? No, of course I'm not in my room. You hired me to find the culprit of the disappearances, why would I be sleeping? What do you mean you thought I was kidding?" He pulled the phone away from his ear as a raised voice could be heard berating him. He waited a few moments for the stream to peeter off. "I'm glad you care, but you need to relax! I just got done spending six years training my ass off with a bunch of warriors and their gods. Hunting down and killing a single newly manifested spirit is nothing." He let out a sigh as more shouting could be heard as he looked at the phone in his hand. "Yasaka, can we talk about this later? I killed the thing and need a cleanup crew." He finally caught a break, his nine-tailed mentor's serious side coming out.

"No, nothing is broken… oh, wait that's not entirely true. There's a busted wall… somewhere, and I broke open the floor in this warehouse. Neither of those should be a problem, the crew is for body disposal and to cleanse the Kijo's little hideout." More sound came from the other line. "Oh. That's what you meant. Yea, I'm fine, it didn't even touch me." A goofy grin spread across his face at the sigh of relief that came through the phone before the conversation continued.

"Yea, it was a pretty nasty Kijo. Make sure the crew are veterans. It's… bad. I also have a kid here that she hadn't gotten to just yet. Looks human, might need a mind wipe, but she also looks homeless… Yea… Yea… I'll share my location to your phone so you can tell them where to go. Got it. See you soon." He turned back to the girl still sitting atop the crate.

"Gonna have a bunch of Yokai coming through to clean everything up soon. You alright, kid?" Brown eyes snapped to his own black.

"Mina. My name is Mina, not kid."

"Okay then, Mina. You alright?"

"No."

"Well… at least you're honest."

"I'm not a human." Daichi quirked an eyebrow, eyes turning to saucers as brown ears, one topped by a white spot faded into sight, and a brown tail flicked out from behind her.

"You… My Senjutsu should have told me you were using an illusion."

"Yes, well, my Senjutsu should have kept me hidden from you, but it didn't, so here we are."

"You aren't a normal nekomata." Her ears flicked down as she tensed, eyes darting around for an escape route. "Relax, brat. I won't tell anyone you're a nekoshou." Mina's cheeks puffed out in a pout, still eyeing him warily.

"I'm not a brat. You aren't much older than me."

"True. Fine, kitty cat, I'll be nice." Her glare intensified as he grinned. "Anyway, little kitten, where are your parents?" She gave him a bewildered look, though he could still see pain and sadness behind it.

"You don't know?"

"Know what? I've been in a completely separate dimensional reality for the past six years. I'm a bit out of touch on supernatural news." Her ears and tail drooped.

"The Devils killed us. All of us. My parents too. I was out playing. I only survived by luck."

"I see. I'm sorry." Mina rubbed her eyes, giving him a defiant look. "Still, if you can hide with Senjutsu, how did you get caught by that disgusting witch?" She cast her eyes to the side in embarrassment.

"I got lazy and forgot to put up an illusion before going to sleep. Woke up in that cage but was able to stay hidden from then on." Daichi looked her over with a critical eye.

"You haven't eaten in a while, have you?" It was a rhetorical question nevertheless answered when the mention of food prompted a loud growl from her stomach. "Sustained yourself with Senjutsu, huh? That's fine. Once the cleanup guys get here, we can take a trip to one of the late-night ramen stands. Soup and soft noodles should be okay for you to eat." Barely a few moments later a group of various Yokai dropped into the building through the windows.

"Took your damn time, didn't you?" Daichi called out as the group relaxed upon securing the area. "The body is there," he waved negligently in its general direction. "The underground room is in that corner." He pointed. "It's bad. Brace yourselves. You might need to break open the door a bit more to get down there." The group exchanged glances at his warning, but they were professionals and went to work without a word. Daichi lifted Mina off the crates, taking her hand and leading her along as he made his way towards the door.

"I'm taking her to get some food. We'll be back at the palace after to report to Yasaka." The squad leader gave a nod of affirmation. Daichi had only been in the palace for a few weeks, but he had very quickly been adopted by many of the various groups, the more martial in particular viewing him as their chosen mascot. Kunou was their Bright Princess, the shining beacon for them to protect, and with Yasaka's decree of treating him the same, he became their Dark Prince, the vicious shadow to lead them, though this was the first opportunity he had to actually put truth to the fanciful chuunibyou talk. He absolutely abhorred the nickname, which only spurred the palace staff on further, but he was at least given some measure of respect.

Mina waited until they were outside before finally choosing to speak.

"Why are you being so nice to me? Most people would have immediately shunned me or tried to capture me once they learned I was a nekoshou."

"I'm the son of a god, and I'm a Yako kitsune. I don't give a shit about what other people would do. I do what I want, and I want to help you. That's it."

"Swear." He rolled his eyes at her making her blush before she continued. "Pure whim? That's your reason?"

"Mostly, though I'm betting you grow up to be incredibly powerful and beautiful, assuming we can hide you away long enough. I have a thing for power and beauty. Comes with being a Yako." She gave him a look that he couldn't quite decipher.

"So, you're grooming me?" He glanced over in confusion.

"What? No. That's creepy. I'm hedging my bets. Very different. You probably already have a decent impression of me from saving you," Mina gave a begrudging nod. "If you agree to accept my help, I'll train you and keep you hidden; both of which will build goodwill between us. If I can dazzle you with my charm, seduce you, and have you fall in love with me in the process, that's just a bonus later on once we're a bit older. How old are you, by the way?"

"Eleven. What do you mean, if I accept?"

"Well, I'm not going to force you into doing anything. That'd be almost as bad as grooming. I don't want unwilling lovers or ungrateful beneficiaries in equal measure. So far, you've only agreed to getting food tonight. If afterward you want to leave and return to hiding in the streets, I'm not going to stop you, though I'm hoping I can convince you that is a poor decision." She gave him a side-eye look of suspicion.

"You'd probably keep hunting me down and bothering me even if I did walk away." He gave her a shit eating grin.

"Guilty as charged." They were both silent after that, Daichi leading them to an open ramen stand after following his nose for several miles, Mina deep in thought the entire trip. Just before they finished approaching, she finally spoke up.

"Fine. I agree. Make me beautiful and powerful and we'll see where a relationship takes us later on. I hate being weak. I don't ever want to be so powerless again."

"Great!" He gave her a genuine smile. "I think that's enough serious stuff for now though. Let's eat, I'm starving." They both pulled themselves up onto stools at the counter, Daichi raising a hand with some Yen bills to get the chef's attention.

"Sensei! Two bowls of the special!"

"Oh! Brat! It's you again! Brought a friend this time?" A pair of greying floppy dog ears attached to an equally grey head of hair peered over the counter to the cat girl fidgeting in her seat.

"Yea! Don't stare, creepy geezer! That's weird!"

"Oi! Respect your elders, you little shit!" Mina watched the byplay with a bit of curiosity, giggling slightly as the cook began his work. Daichi gave a crooked smile to the side as he watched Mina nearly drool over the smells coming from the food as it was prepared. He'd been doing his best to keep her distracted. Losing her parents, living on the streets in constant fear, then going through her most recent ordeal, he was already surprised how well she was holding up. Her mentality was made of stern stuff. She had a backbone in her, that was absolutely certain.

The pair were soon gorging themselves on massive bowls of soup, though Daichi was careful to start Mina off slowly to ensure she didn't eat too quickly and vomit. However, it seemed he worried for nothing, her Senjutsu working to take the sudden influx of sustenance and begin distributing and healing the effects of her malnourishment. It would take more than a single good meal for her to fully recover, but since she had already agreed to his help, she would never go hungry again so long as she was in his care. Almost as soon as the food had been placed before them, the bowls were empty.

"Thanks, Sensei! It was delicious as usual!"

"Yes, thank you, it was amazing."

"You're welcome. See you later, Dark Prince. Bring our little princess by again sometime soon."

"Of course. She loves your ramen. Later, gramps!"

The two hopped off their stools, Daichi taking a moment to let out a big stretch, his tails flexing and pointing straight up as he pushed up onto his tippy toes and let out a content sigh.

"Alright. Come on, kitty cat. Let's get home." She was silent for a few steps before commenting.

"Dark Prince?" Daichi's pleasant expression instantly turned sulky at Mina's malicious smile.

"Please don't…"

"No promises, your highness."

Daichi let out a long groan.

"I'm never going to live this nickname down…"

"No. No you will not."

Daichi sulked silently the remainder of the trip while Mina kept up her snickering all the way until they approached the palace.

"Wait." Mina stopped, prompting Daichi to turn with a raised eyebrow. "Prince, as in a real prince? I thought you were kidding when you said you were the son of a god and he just played along with it!"

"Huh? Oh. No, I'm really the son of Inari. Yasaka is teaching me Youjutsu alongside Kunou as a favor for my old man." Mina had a dazed expression on her face as she stared up at the brilliant architecture as they approached, Daichi grumbling beneath his breath. "Little prince, Dark Prince, these assholes think they're so funny." Mina was similarly mumbling in her dazed state.

"…an actual prince… a real palace…"

Daichi pushed his way through the doors, the guards saluting as he passed, only increasing his sullen grumbling as he trudged toward the throne room, Mina trailing in his wake.

"They do that and call me those ridiculous titles because they know it irritates me." He finally spoke up, breaking Mina from her stupor.

"Huh? Why?"

"Dark Prince? Really? I may be junior high age, but I definitely am not chuuni. It's embarrassing. I'm not even really related to Yasaka and Kunou. Yasaka told them all to treat me like they treated her daughter, so they took it literally and now I can't get them to stop." He scuffed a shoe against the floor as he let out a sigh, the throne room doors approaching. Mina giggled at his pouting.

"They must really like you a lot then."

"Yea, well, they have a funny way of showing it." He threw open the doors to the room, Yasaka already receiving a report from a field agent as she sat perched atop her throne. It was only a few moments before she dismissed him, gesturing for Daichi to approach.

"I see you brought along a new friend."

"Yea. She's the one that was still down there."

"I see. We'll be discussing your lack of appreciation for danger later. For now, go ahead and give me a report on what happened."

"I'm going to warn you now, you aren't going to win that argument. I didn't spend six years honing my powers and skills in combat and killing to sit around and do nothing."

"Later. Report, now."

"Fine. I've been walking the streets the past few nights attempting to lure it out of hiding. I wasn't sure what it was, but the fact that it was targeting children made finding it pretty easy once it noticed me. Once it finally targeted me, it was easy enough to track it back to its lair after fending it off where I killed it and uncovered its…" he glanced over at Mina who was studiously ignoring their conversation. "…den of butchery."

"Fended it off? You used yourself as bait?!"

"Yasaka, I punched it once and collapsed a stone wall on top of it. It fled immediately after. In the warehouse I had it dead to rights and at my mercy in seconds, and it was thrashing about as it choked and suffocated to death moments later. I may be young, but I am not Kunou."

"Clearly." She let out a sigh, hands stroking a tail that came around to rest in her lap. "I'm sorry. I was just… so worried. I know you're strong for your age, and have the ability to take care of yourself, but knowing you could have been hurt when it's my responsibility to keep you safe…"

"I understand. I can't promise to not seek out danger, but I can keep you more informed when I do."

Yasaka sighed again in defeat.

"I would appreciate that." He gave her a comforting smile, walking up and plopping down on her lap to tickle her with the tips of his tails.

"Stop that," she said with a smile. "We still have a guest. You can play your games later."

"Okay, okay. I'll be good for now." He stood up to her side. "Mina, this is Yasaka, Yokai ruler of Western Japan. Yasaka, this is Mina, my new pet kitty cat."

"I'm not your pet!" "Daichi, behave." They admonished him at the same time, a hand going to cover her mouth as Yasaka smiled in amusement at the young girl glaring up at her student. He grinned.

"Fine. This is Mina, my new aspiring pet kitty cat." Yasaka rolled her eyes as Mina's bulged.

"That's a demotion! Take it back!"

"Take it back? So, you are my pet kitty?"

"I – No! I'm your… student? Yea! Student!"

He turned to Yasaka.

"So, there you have it. She's my new student."

"I see. In that case, we'll have to make her presentable. We can't have the student of the Dark Prince looking like any common child off the street, now can we?" Daichi groaned as Yasaka stood.

"Come along, Mina. Let's get you a bath and some new clothes." Mina glanced over at Daichi, her eyes showing her uncertainty. He gave her a reassuring smile.

"You can trust Yasaka. She's an angel." Yasaka hid a flattered smile by taking Mina by the hand and leading her away, speaking gently to the young girl and leaving Daichi to his own devices. Yasaka was too good for this world. She would have Mina opened up like a book and have her traumas on the mend before the end of their bath. With Mina in good hands, Daichi took a glance around the now empty throne room and slumped with a sigh.

It was time for bed. He was going to sleep like the dead and enjoy every minute of it.

**A/N:**

Quick note on my RWBY fic since this one has my biggest cross story follow group: I pulled it to rework it. I've been super unsatisfied with how it's progressed for a while, so I'm going to be reworking it and reposting it in a couple months. The child arc and development just didn't work for that fandom since there wasn't a whole lot for me to work with or do without turning the fic into a fluff piece. If anyone would like to discuss it further, I recommend joining my Discord if you'd like to get more detailed feel for my plans for the fic moving forward.

**DarklordUA1323** – We're still a decent way away from canon. He's been in the world for something like 9 years at this point. 3 at the beginning as a fox, 6 training in Asgard, while he guesstimated to have been born around the same time as the main cast, so we've got something like 8 more years before canon. As far as abilities go, for now he's received training in Senjutsu, Touki, Youjutsu, and Nordic Runes. That's already a pretty extensive list that covers most of his needs.

**Tristan Mabey **– Yea that's pretty much the only thing I can picture as well lol

**Reader0007** – Not as near as it seems. 8 years or so is a long time with a lot that can happen. Sorry if I said something previously that was misleading, keeping his physical appearance in line with his actual age and canon timelines can get confusing.

**Blaze2121** – They're very distantly related simply by both being kitsune but not literally family.

**Yukilumi** – Glad you liked that detail since it was something that came to mind spur of the moment lol  
I hope my answer at the top answered your FT review's question. It wasn't only based on review criticism. I was also dissatisfied with how the story had played out, so I'll be changing it up to hopefully avoid the pitfalls I fell into with the first attempt.

**Zyr0TruthCanExist** – There's a more concrete connection between Christianity and Judaism to link them to the same god. It's really just easier for me to write it that way without delving too much into the history of religions. I'm picturing God having a domain similar to an ideal like 'Righteousness'. Something general that would draw power simply from any small act of kindness that occurred which would in turn provide an explanation for his power level. I haven't given Allah much thought since I don't intend to bring him into the story at this point.


	17. Chapter 16

Discord: /CGen5YA

**Chapter Sixteen**

Daichi's fingers traced the signs associated with the basic Youjutsu spell Fire Bolt, a flame the size of a golf ball spawned before him. He fed a bit more mana into the creation, its size ballooned to that of a softball before he pointed at his distant target and sent it down range. Mina was opposite him, working on her shielding spells to resist his attacks, her Youjutsu foundation already further along thanks to her parents' prior education. Nekoshou were naturally gifted in both Youjutsu and Senjutsu, so while he was considered a quick study of both systems, he viewed it as almost unfair how fast Mina was able to pick up and master new spells.

She was absorbing Yasaka's teachings like a sponge, though her motivation for learning also stemmed from her initial conversation with Yasaka. His mentor had filled him in the day after he had brought her back, calling him into her office that morning while Kunou and Mina were both still sleeping.

"Daichi, we need to talk."

"I assumed as much considering you asked me to meet you in your study."

"Smart aleck." He gave her a grin in response as she shook her head with a smile. "She told me everything about what happened to her. Her species is almost extinct, something has been hunting them down for the past few years." Daichi's ears flicked as a tail lazily waved in her direction.

"The Devils." He supplied.

"Yes. We haven't had proof until now, but even with the testimony of a survivor, she's still only a child." Yasaka was silent for a moment. "She hates them, Daichi. It's a burning, festering hatred. It'll devour her if she can't come to terms with it."

"I see. She needs a direction to channel it constructively until it can be resolved."

"Yes. I've already agreed to teach her alongside you and Kunou." Daichi nodded, having expected this decision. "Still…" Yasaka sighed. "It's the first solid lead we have, so I've come to ask you a favor."

"You want me to call Sera and ask if it's the entirety of the Devil's or one faction committing genocide."

Yasaka lowered her head slightly, eyes closed.

"Please. It would mean a lot to me and the other Yokai leadership to know if we have a path of recourse to avenge this insult to our people."

Daichi didn't even hesitate, pulling out his phone and speed dialing Sera.

"Hey, Sera."

"_Dai-tan? What's up? Our normal call time isn't until this evening, not that I'm complaining."_

"Sorry, Sera. I'm calling on business this time, though it is nice to hear your voice."

"_Flatterer. You don't need to butter me up, you know I'd do almost anything for you."_

"Even selling out one of the pillar families who have been committing a hidden genocidal campaign against the Nekoshou Yokai of Japan?"

The line was silent for a moment, no doubt as Sera fully processed the bomb he dropped in her lap and went over the implications. He suddenly heard the phone be set down followed by swearing as papers rustled and drawers were opened and closed.

"_One sec, Dai-tan."_

"Of course, Sera."

The rustling continued for a few moments until it suddenly ceased.

"_Found it." _She was silent for a moment as she read over whatever she had been searching for. _"Those fucking morons! I fucking swear, I'll gut them myself if they don't get wiped out by the fucking Yokai before I get my hands on them!"_

"Uhhh… Sera? You okay?"

"_No! Those idiots! They could have started a damned war!"_

"Sooooo, is that a yes?"

"_Yes! I'll serve those dumbasses up on a silver platter to you and the Yokai leaders! The Satans have a standing order to avoid anything that could cause external faction conflict outside of the normal scuffling we do within our own three factions. They hung themselves by getting caught like IDIOTS!"_

"Ah. Well, thanks, Sera. I owe you one."

"_No, I think I probably owe you for this one. Letting me get out in front of this is doing me a huge favor. Thank you, Daichi."_

"No problem. We can cuddle in my fox form next time I see you, that way we both win."

"_Deal!"_ The sound of shifting paper picked back up but stopped soon after, Sera falling into silence for a moment._ "The family is Naberius. One of their scions was killed by a servant bishop that happened to be a Nekoshou. She's currently marked as an S rank criminal, Kuroka. We don't have any formal proof of their activities, but if you give me some time, I bet I can find it. We've been monitoring their house ever since the incident. There's been a lot of suspicious movement and activity coming in and out of their household for a while, but we never launched a formal investigation. Consider it a gesture of goodwill from the Devils to the Yokai."_

He raised an eyebrow in Yasaka's direction, her ears facing forward to listen in on the conversation. A thoughtful look crossed her face before she shook her head in denial.

"Nah, I think we can handle it now that we have a name. No need to create even more of a political nightmare for you than this will eventually become. You might want to give Sirzechs, Ajuka, and Falbium a call to let them know. Thanks, Sera, Yasaka is grateful for the help, but so am I. I appreciate it."

"_I'll call them right after this. This is nothing, Daichi. Knowing you and the Yokai, you would have all figured it out without my help. It's not like this was a secret. Like I said, you're actually saving me a bunch of trouble. Losing a pillar family is going to be a nasty blow but I would much rather be on friendly terms with the entirety of the Yokai than shield a bunch of insubordinate traitors to our faction."_ Yasaka gave a small, mysterious smile to match Daichi's smirk.

"That makes sense. I think we both have some business to take care of now, so I'll call you later, normal time."

"_You're right. Alright, Dai-tan! Talk to you soon!"_

"Bye, Sera." They both hung up, Daichi turning his attention back to Yasaka as the screen faded.

"So. The Naberius family." Yasaka nodded, smile fading as a serious look of contemplation reached her eyes.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to take the fight directly to their doorstep. Our defensive forces are substantial, but we're not built for aggressive maneuvers against other factions, especially one based in a separate dimension." Daichi gave a nod of understanding.

"We should tell Mira about this. She deserves to know. We should also look into finding and sheltering any hidden surviving Nekoshou, this Kuroka included." Yasaka shook her head in frustration.

"That's much easier said than done." Daichi hummed in agreement. "We've had some in protective custody for a while, hidden away once we realized, but the Naberius were truly insidious. They worked quickly, many of the Nekoshou, an already rare subspecies, were slain before we could even react. This Kuroka…" Yasaka stroked one of her tails perched atop her lap. "She would be an incredible windfall to support our cause. Having a source with inside knowledge of the Naberius family would be equally as important." Daichi gave her an expectant look, a big grin slowly stretching across his face.

"This sounds like a bounty contract. Is this a bounty contract? Are you hiring me for a bounty?!" Yasaka giggled at his energy.

"Yes. I'm hiring you. Officially hiring you, this time. I'll have a contract drafted and ready for you to look over and sign this evening." Daichi's tails went into a frenzy of weaving as he bounced in place in excitement. "This won't be an exclusive contract though. I'll be instructing my normal forces and resources to be on the lookout for her as well."

"No, I understand. I'll be the one to succeed though. I do have a question before I leave to wake up Mira and Kunou for our morning training."

"Go ahead, you should know by now that I trust you and your judgement." He gave her a genuine smile. "…most of the time." He rolled his eyes in mock irritation as she tittered behind her hand.

"Do the Yokai have enough ultimate class combatants to handle the Naberius leadership?" Yasaka's normally affable smile gained a sharp, predatory edge to it.

"Yes. They are but a single family. No matter their size or strength, a single family could never hope to match an entire united country. The moment their name was provided, their family was handed a death sentence." Yasaka picked up a report sitting atop her desk, skimming its contents as she continued speaking. "It is simply a matter of time. Our shadow corps will be moving to sanction and slay every known asset they have cultivated in the mortal realm likely within the next hour after you leave this room. The Northern leader has, in particular, been frustrated by these events. He will no doubt be ruthlessly efficient in removing their presence from the world."

"And their home in Hell?"

Yasaka frowned.

"Like I said, we will be unable to directly attack them on their home turf, at least without some kind of outside assistance. I do not wish to rely on the goodwill of the Devils in annihilating one of their previously allied members."

"So, we'll need preparation and an opening."

"In short, yes. Preparation would be simple. Mobilizing the shadows only takes the joint confirmation of three of the four leaders, and we will be unanimously in agreement in regards to this. Why? Do you think you can provide this opening?" Daichi hesitated, taking a few moments to think.

"Maybe. I don't want to promise anything and it will rely on finding Kuroka first, so it may take some time. Maybe even years to move all the pieces into place."

"I understand." Yasaka nodded. "Keep me updated. We have time, so there's no need to rush into making hasty, sloppy actions. Even if years pass, the Yokai will not forgive nor forget this transgression." Daichi gave an anticipatory smile.

"I'll get to work on finding some leads then. Assisting in the annihilation of a Devil Pillar family would boost my power substantially."

"I believe the more aggressive human militaries have a saying…" Yasaka hummed in thought for a moment. "It's a target rich environment. Is that correct?"

Daichi laughed, a full laugh from the base of his belly.

"Yes, that's exactly it. For a Zenko, you're constantly surprising me."

"One day, you'll come to find that being a leader requires some compromises to be made for the betterment of your people. I vastly prefer a lighter touch, but even a benevolent person has a bottom line."

"True. I'll go and wake Kunou and Mina now. This was an enlightening conversation."

"Thank you, Daichi. After breakfast, all of you start with sign practice, I'll be along after I finish making a few calls and wrap up some business."

"Of course. Do you want me to have the chefs send a plate for you?"

"That would be lovely." She gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you." He waved it off.

"See you in a little bit, Sensei."

* * *

As they wrapped up their morning training, Daichi sat Mina down, Yasaka sending Kunou off to wash up before lunch so the three of them could have a bit of privacy.

"Kitty cat, we found the Devils who killed your parents." Daichi hopped in with no preamble. There was nothing to say beforehand that would soften the blow of this kind of information. Mina visibly stiffened, her mind turning over his words, completely ignoring his pet name in the process. Her ears went flat, pinned back as her tail flicked back and forth in agitation. Her next word was growled out.

"Who?"

"It's one of the pillar families. Naberius." Another freeze frame passed over her, all movement ceasing for a moment until all at once she seemed to crumple into herself, tail drooping along with her ears as tears flowed freely.

"So, there's nothing I can do." Yasaka and Daichi exchanged a glance. These were the moments that would make or break her.

"Not exactly." Daichi hedged, Mina looking up at him with a desperate hope. "While it's true neither you nor the Yokai as a whole can reach them in Hell, telling your story to the other regional leaders will help persuade them to take action. You're the proof they need, along with other evidence already collected, to raze their mortal operations to the ground. After that, it's a waiting game. We'll need assistance and a solid plan of attack to secure a path into Hell which will take time." He reached forward to gently pry open Mina's clenched fists. "You need to be patient until then. As my student, this is my first real lesson for you. Patience is the essence of the hunt. Without patience, you will fail to bring down your prey every single time." Mina repeated his words under her breath a few times as if it was a mantra.

"I understand." She gave his hands a squeeze, steely resolve settling into her eyes. "I will be patient. Revenge is best served cold after all, right?" He smiled approvingly.

"Exactly." He pulled her to her feet. "Now go wash up. We'll eat lunch, then I'll give you your physical training and Senjutsu exercises for this afternoon. I have some research I need to take care of, so I won't be able to stay."

"I want to help."

"You can help when you can last against me in a fight for over a minute."

Mina pouted, a subtle whining lilt to her voice as she objected.

"That's going to take forever!"

"Well, the faster you get stronger, the sooner you can join me with work duties." Mina huffed in discontent but let it go.

"Fine. I understand."

"Good kitty."

Mina rounded on him, face red in anger and embarrassment.

"Don't call me that!" Daichi put on his best innocent expression as he cocked his head.

"Okay, Kitten."

Mina sputtered, claws flexing as she glared at him but straightened and turned with a huff, stalking to the doors. Daichi watched on with an approving smile.

"Gooooooood. Goooooooood." Yasaka shot him an exasperated look.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into watching those movies. All these references are ridiculous."

"You know you love it. You weren't complaining when Palpatine tempted Anakin into murdering Count Dooku in cold blood. If I recall correctly, the exact words out of your mouth started with a gasp, then 'No! Don't do it, Ani!'." Yasaka blushed a deep red as Daichi gave her his signature shit eating grin.

"You really are like a miniature Sith Lord, aren't you? Malicious little fox."

Daichi sinisterly chuckled. He had been practicing, so it wasn't half bad.

"Don't worry. Unlike Anakin I won't lose myself to the Dark Side and hurt the ones I love." Yasaka gave him a fond smile as they walked through the corridors.

"Yes. Cruelty to your enemies is benevolence to the self. You would never allow anything to hurt what you care for, even yourself. That's why you push so hard, isn't it?" Yasaka's expression was warm, forcing him to look away.

"You're way too good at that."

She reached over and stroked the hair around his ears gently.

"It comes with experience, but you should know that you are not your own enemy."

"I know. It's why I embrace who I am so wholeheartedly. I may someday be an evil bastard in the eyes of some, but if, at the end, I kept what is mine safe and happy, then it'll be worth it."

"Your possessiveness is endearing when you're being so serious."

"Somebody has to be possessive around here, with how selfless you and Kunou are by nature."

"Of course," she stated still stroking his ears. "You are our Dark Prince for a reason, after all."

Daichi facepalmed with a groan, a mischievous smile on Yasaka's lips.

* * *

"What is it with supernatural and run-down warehouses?" Daichi muttered. His earlier research was finding and accessing the Devil's standing bounty board through the internet. The discussion about Kuroka had reminded him that all stray Devils were marked as publicly available contracts, something that Sera had mentioned some time ago when he had first brought up his future plans. While they were normally handled by other Devils who took them for the status and reputation points intrinsic to their system, contracts could be taken on by outsiders for an alternative monetary reward, though it would also serve as another point of proof for Daichi's resumé, displaying his ability to successfully accept and execute contracted bounty work, even if it was only publicly available work.

He was currently in Nantan, a small town northwest of Kyoto city proper. He had taken the time to run, making the trip in his true form in order to stretch his legs in his largest possible frame, a Youjutsu illusion hiding him from even supernatural prying eyes. He had made what was normally around an hour-long drive in forty-five minutes, bounding through the countryside on crimson paws, Senjutsu keeping his presence and tracks nonexistent.

His target had previously been a rook, and Daichi was looking forward to a more straightforward brawl than the Kijo had given him. While hunting had its own pleasures, true combat was where he made the greatest gains in power. He had already surveyed the area as part of his afternoon and evening activities, and now that night had fallen, Daichi was preparing to execute his attack. Daichi whipped out his phone, shooting a text to Yasaka to let her know he was about to begin his work, then began muttering under his breath as a finger scrawled Youjutsu symbols into the air.

"The symbol for fire, a symbol for air, a symbol for pressure, a symbol for impact, pump it full of mana…" The fire within the pressurized sphere of air rapidly changed colors from red to orange to yellow to white. Daichi continued pushing mana into the construct for a few more seconds then flicked it away. He never would have performed an attack such as this had the area been more populated, however the warehouse was set on the outskirts of the town, so he felt no real compunction about blowing it up. Plus, explosions were cool.

He was practically purring as the Youjutsu fire bomb crashed through a window and immediately combusted. Daichi wore the biggest Cheshire grin stretched across his face, Touki bracing and shielding him from the shockwave and noise as the explosion leveled the building, sending debris flying along with a small mushroom cloud up into the night sky. A pain filled roar soon followed, a hulking brute of a malformed bear-devil hybrid creature lumbering out of the scorched remains of the building.

Its fur was completely reduced to ash in most places, burns coating its skin, what was left of its human body completely coated in raw, red welts.

"You! Will!_ Die!_" It roared, shouted, and hissed all at once, but Daichi wasn't one to let openings remain so. Fight banter could be fun, but only when a win was already guaranteed, otherwise it was kill first, then gloat over the enemy's corpse. Monologuing was for egomaniacs and idiots. A pearl green bolt of Senjutsu energy formed in his hands, both immediately being flung into the bear-thing's face prompting another screech of pain as they blew craters into its flesh. His attack signaled the beginning of their fight, the brute barreling forward towards him.

It was an easy thing for Daichi to evade, his speed far superior as the bear's paw crashed onto his previous position. Daichi surveyed the damage to the ground, a crater large enough to hold a medium sized pool remaining after the impact. Daichi frowned, a thoughtful hum escaping him.

"That would be painful. I don't want to break anything." Crimson Touki coated his body as the monster turned, taking a more measured approach, though Daichi chose to punish the decision with a few more bolts of Senjutsu, the bear half tanking the blasts to its meaty shoulders. Daichi tisked in irritation, exploding forward into melee range, his dark red aura flaring around his fist as he hammered two explosive attacks against the softer areas around the second head's throat, dashing out immediately to avoid the counter-swipe of a paw.

Daichi circled quickly, darting in and slamming home punches and kicks to the undefended sides of the massive creature before retreating. Though Daichi could feel he was doing damage, it was also not accumulating quickly enough to truly hinder his prey. He changed tactics, claws extending, a razor-sharp edge of Touki reinforcing them. He continued his assault, his own claws gouging out and rending flesh faster than the roaring beast could react.

He scraped the meat from its ribs, red, blood-drenched bone showing through. The joint of one of the hind legs became visible. Deep furrows drenched the inflamed skin an even deeper shade of red, yet through all this the beast showed no signs of weariness or exhaustion, attacking and counter attacking for each of Daichi's assaults though finding only air.

Daichi growled in frustration. Rooks truly earned their reputation in strength and defensive ability. He paced back and forth as he thought over a new plan of attack, his enemy taking the brief moment of respite to recover and prepare. If nothing changed it was obvious the fight would become a battle of attrition, and neither side desired such a thing, the explosion likely alerting all manner of mundane and supernatural eyes. Daichi flicked blood and viscera from his fingers and claws, spraying the ground beside him.

His eyes roamed over his opponent. The Senjutsu blasts had done the most damage per hit after his fire bomb. He could blast the beast down from range, but that would ultimately be immensely unsatisfying. His gaze slowly traveled to the creature's back where a humanoid face pressed out between the shoulder blades and lowered neck of the monstrosity. It was in a rather difficult position, but was undoubtedly the critical weak point of this monster. If he could maneuver his way past the claws and teeth, he would be able to end this fight in a single blow. It was a massive risk, yet he couldn't allow the fight to drag on much longer. He was beginning to regret going so loud at the start of this fight.

Daichi dropped into a runner's stance, feet pressing into the dirt to create makeshift footholds for starting blocks. He watched as the stray Devil seemed to ready itself for his impending attack. A moment passed as Daichi scrawled a few quick symbols into the dirt, then appeared to burst forward. The Devil reacted, claws and teeth crashing down onto his body the moment he entered its range, only for the attacks to phase through the illusion. The true Daichi appeared barely a blink later, feet planted firmly atop the shoulders of the ravaged monster. Crimson claws, drenched in both Touki and blood, slammed down into the screeching face, slicing through the skull like tofu.

The scene seemed to momentarily freeze as all sound from the stray Devil ceased, the only things to be heard being Daichi's labored breathing and the crackling of fire. Its size played a role in the next moments, the mass of the creature holding it up for precious seconds before it began toppling to the earth. Daichi pulled his hand from the destroyed visage, flinging more blood from his natural weapons as he hopped from atop the corpse.

He took a second to steady his breathing as he glared at the corpse. He had to dispose of the damn thing now. Rias had it so easy with her Power of Destruction. Daichi quickly scrawled out the symbol for fire, massively overcharging it with mana before dropping it onto the body. The almost plasma like heat quickly vaporized the now defenseless corpse, the chess piece remaining within already inert, the supernatural nature of the crystal it was crafted from keeping it intact despite the magic powering it already having dissipated as its host died.

Daichi glanced around, extending his senses and Senjustu out into the surroundings. He was still alone, though from what he could hear, that wouldn't last long. Sirens were rapidly approaching, and while they were being very careful, he could hear and sense the rustling approach of the less mundane members of the area. With a crimson coated hand, Daichi reached into the charred area and plucked the proof of his conquest from the smoldering ground.

Daichi slipped his way into the tree line, his humanoid outline fading into shadows. A few quick symbols later and he completely vanished, though if anyone had been close enough, they might have seen the glint of a pair of eyes as the fading shimmer of an outline of a large beast dashed away from the area.

**A/N:**

**Yukilumi** – You always give thoughtful feedback on chapters. It makes it easy to respond. I have an idea of where I want to take Mina, but we'll see as the story unfolds if I can execute it properly.

**Ragnas Bredvolts** – I'll be exploring more Yokai, no worries. Story spoilers are a no-no, so you're just going to have to wait lol I've already have a few plans for the things you've mentioned so look forward to the content once we get there.

**Tokitakun** – His very presence is going to topple canon's tower so fast and hard it'll make a Jenga tower look like a pleasant occurrence. His influence on Rossweisse, Sera, and Gabriel have already sent butterflies snowballing.

**Yami-Guy** – I'm glad you've enjoyed it so far! Thanks for reading!


	18. Chapter 17

Discord: /CGen5YA

**Chapter Seventeen**

He opened his eyes.

Nothing.

He furrowed his brow in concentration while attempting to mimic the sensation Yasaka had shared with the three of them when she summoned her Fox Fire flames. It had felt like a warm bath; a tingling, relaxing sensation that permeated his entire being. Yasaka's fire color was similar to Kunou's, though it leaned towards a darker, deeper gold.

Patience. Slow inhale, slow exhale. Slow inhale, the air flowing in and filling him up is the warmth of the fire, spreading through his body, just as the oxygen is carried throughout his veins. Slow exhale, the warmth flows out, into his hands.

Daichi glared at his empty palms in cold irritation for a moment before standing and dusting off his pants. Daichi growled, glancing daggers around the room as Kunou and Mina juggled and tossed balls of various colored fire around between them before he went back to staring at the space above his hand. Kunou's fox flames were predominantly a golden white, while Mina's Kasha flames flickered between an ethereal green and shadowy purple.

He had taken to wearing normal mortal clothing some time ago, since even with magic, putting on and taking off the full kimono ensemble was a pain in the ass to perform every day, not to mention frivolously burning or destroying fancy clothing was simply wasteful. Rossweisse would be proud of him for his consideration. With a sigh he shot one last look at the random fireballs still being tossed and floating throughout the room before heading over to a separate practice room to invest some time in a more fruitful endeavor of practical Youjutsu application.

He took a position opposite the makeshift dummies. Daichi's hands _twisted_, the Youjutsu symbols for _wave_, _force_,and _disperse_ chaining together near instantly as a blast of energy rocketed out of his palm and slammed into the still constructs, sending them flying and carrying them into the far wall. The attack crashed against the surface, flattening the metallic pieces of the targets while the wooden components splintered and shattered.

His hands blurred once again, the symbols for _broken_, _repair_, and the more complex _reconstitute_ flowed out, the energy flowing across the room where the pieces of the focus of his ire lay scattered. As the energy spread, it coated the fragments, each piece taking a hint of a glow before a slow-motion rewind of their destruction played out, the pieces floating up and fitting together like a self-solving puzzle.

"Feeling better?" Yasaka's soft voice carried to him from the door, his ears twitching slightly in response.

"No." He sighed, still glaring as the dummies finished flowing back into place. His ears twitched again as her characteristic kimono ruffled while she moved, coming to a stop behind him. She lightly pulled him back into her chest, resting her arms around his shoulders and her chin atop his head. At twelve years old, he had finally hit a growth spurt, his appearance closer to fourteen, his head reaching just below her chin to make for an easy perch. His ears flicked against her cheeks, the soft fur stroking her unintentionally in his distracted agitation of the press of her soft, massive chest against his back.

"I've been thinking, it might be a good idea for you to take a trip. A distant one this time. You've been holed up and so focused on achieving your Fox Fire that you're neglecting yourself." A hand came up to stroke the long hair cascading from his head, fingers massaging and scratching the back of his neck and base of his skull. He let out yet another sigh, relaxing into her pampering.

"Yea…" he mumbled. "Yea, I probably should. It's just been so frustrating. I've been at it for months and made no progress." Yasaka hummed in response. The girls had picked up the skill fairly quickly, Kunou having a similar fire making guiding her a simple affair while Mina had the natural Nekoshou gifts.

"I'm glad you agree. Sera, Gabriel, Freyja, and I have been discussing." Daichi unintentionally stiffened slightly. When the women got to talking, it was a toss-up whether it was going to be good or bad for the men in their lives. "You've made a decent name for yourself over the past few years. Your bounty hunting reputation is very solid, and now that you're a bit older and of sufficient power, it will be less of a hassle for you to expand your business outside of friendly territory." His five tails were currently intertwining rather intimately around her legs and hips, the fifth having finally arrived after achieving a sufficient mastery of Youjutsu at the beginning of the year, prompting the transition to Flame practice months prior.

Daichi had spent the past three years running occasional contracts spread between Asgard, the Underworld, and the various Youkai leaders. With as many enemies as the Norse pantheon had accrued over the millennia, all of the stray devils that cropped up from forced conversions, and the large variety of potentially evil Youkai, Daichi had no shortage of available work. Gabriel had wanted to help contribute with some bounties from Heaven, but unfortunately most of their exiled exorcists and troublemakers were based in other parts of the world, Japan not having a strong Christian background among their demographic.

A six-year-old Kunou took the opportunity to slam open the training room door.

"Hahaue, please release Onii-sama, his tails are being bad again." Yasaka simply turned them to face the door, Mina following the young nine-tails into the room. The Nekoshou had mellowed out slightly in the years following her adoption into their small little family, though that wasn't to say she was any less outspoken or vicious to strangers.

To those she was comfortable with, she was just as energetic and driven as she had been when he pulled her out of that basement a few years ago. Her anger and desire for vengeance had simply been tempered from the hot forge into cold steel, her sharp tongue sheathed behind a mask of cool patience. It was her dedication to achieving strength that was backed by an ironclad determination that Daichi couldn't help but respect.

"Oh? Daichi-kun, it appears Kunou has a problem with you taking advantage of your poor, defenseless sensei." Daichi rolled his eyes before purposefully nestling himself deeper into her cleavage. Poor and defenseless his ass. She still regularly thrashed him in their magical spars even without accessing the leyline convergence she was intrinsically linked to.

"Hahaue, it appears you misunderstood me. I know you started it, tempting him like a typical mortal fox. Onii-sama cannot help himself as it's part of his nature."

"What's this? Daichi-kun, have you stolen my daughter away from me already?" Yasaka was stroking his ears as he melted into her embrace. If he had been in his animal form, he had no doubt one of his legs would be twitching and thumping with pleasure.

"Yasaka, if you keep it up, I'm going to fall asleep." Daichi murmured, his eyes half lidded. "I appreciate how much you managed to rile up my dearest little sister though. She's absolutely the cutest with her cheeks puffed out like that." The girl in question immediately sucked her cheeks back in and glared at the pair before turning with a huff.

"Fine! I didn't want to save my onii-sama from the clutches of that wily fox anyway!" Yasaka tittered behind her free hand.

"Careful, or we'll turn her into a tsundere. That would be a true tragedy." Daichi muttered, finally pulling away. He lunged forward, scooping up Kunou into his arms while she kept her back turned, rubbing their cheeks together. "Though she is absolutely adorable! Isn't that right, Mina?!" He held a squealing Kunou directly up into the cat girl's face, her expression attempting to maintain some semblance of neutrality, but her ears flicking in response gave away her true feelings. Daichi's eyes darting up and back down to meet her own, accompanied by a smirk of victory was enough to break her mask this time, a blush dusting her cheeks as she glared. "See! Even Mina can't handle the cute overload!"

"Stupid Onii-sama! Put me down!" Kunou wiggled, attempting to escape his grasp but Daichi simply pulled her back into his grasp, cuddling her even more.

"Not a chance! I've captured you, so I have prisoner authority. Your only chance of salvation is for someone else to save you now!" He spun them both around, eyes twinkling as they faced Yasaka. "How about it, Yasaka-sensei? The big bad Yako has stolen away your precious daughter." Daichi started poking at Kunou's ribs tickling her while she squirmed and giggled. "You'll never save her in time!"

"Ha - " Kunou gasped, stifling her laughter. "Hahaue!" She burst into giggles, gasping out her plee. "Save me! Please!" Yasaka cupped her face in one hand, the other arm resting beneath her chest as she adopted a look of serious contemplation.

"I suppose I can't leave my precious daughter in the hands of such an evil little fox." Her fingers twisted, a spell flying out that Daichi immediately countered with a flicker of his own hand, a small shield deflecting the burst of air over their heads. He spun Kunou out of his grasp and into Mina's waiting arms, a small smile on her face at the group's antics. Yasaka took the opportunity to send two more bursts of magic his direction, a small billow of fire accompanied by another arrow of condensed air were deflected to the side this time, a larger shield springing up to direct both while his free hand spat his own flame back towards his teacher.

They were small spells, but this was how all of their spars went, the fight less about power and more about outwitting their opponent. The first who succeeded in slipping an attack through the other's guard was the victor.

Daichi was rarely the victor.

A small plume of water met a streak of fire while two blasts of air cancelled each other out, the steam from the opposing elements bursting and rapidly expanding from the combined winds, briefly obscuring their lines of sight. Daichi ducked, two spells zipping over him as he stayed in place but tossed a stone to the side, a streak of water zipping into the mist from his opposite hand in the next instant. Two separate spells were received in response, one at the rocks location, and another directly at his head which he quickly avoided by leaning to the side, two more spells leaving his hands, one of wind dispersing the already thinning vapor and another of water as he rolled to the side, a shield popping into existence as he came to his feet.

Yasaka was there to meet him, a finger directly in front of his face with a small flame perched atop the end of her nail and a smile on her lips.

"You were close, I almost didn't intercept that water after the stone, but you forgot to keep your eyes on your opponent. A dash step had me in range before you could finish recovering, even with deflecting your attacks." Daichi tisked. Ullr would have his skin mounted on his wall if he learned he made such an amateur slip up. Daichi made up his mind in that moment, though he had already previously agreed. These years had turned him soft. His bounties had given him some danger, but without the constant struggle he had experienced in the Dark Elf forest, his instincts and abilities were dulling. It seemed this trip was more necessary than he realized.

Daichi let out a sigh, his breath blowing out the flame before him.

"It looks like I'll be leaving within the next few days then."

Kunou's cheers were cut short while Mina glared, finally speaking up.

"What do you mean, leaving?"

Daichi fully stood, dusting himself off slightly.

"Before both of you joined us, Yasaka and I were discussing my recent struggles. We think it's for the best if I take a trip to hone myself for a while."

"You're taking me with you, right? You said, back then, if I could last for over a minute against you, I could help you work." Daichi shook his head in response to Mina's words.

"No, not this time. I'm going to be going places and fighting things that I won't be able to protect you from if I get in over my head." Mina was practically growling, her tails and fur fluffed out, claws fully extended as she stalked forward. Daichi simply placed a hand on her head once she got in range, rubbing the sweet spot at the base of her ears that he knew she loved. "Relax, Kitten. I'm not taking you with me, but you'll still be helping me with my work. Yasaka already gave her approval for you to be my representative in Japan. You'll be handling any contract within your power level that you feel you can complete, though you need to remember that you'll be representing me and my company any time you take one or are out working, so no rampant destruction." Mina refused to budge to his ministrations, but slowly calmed down as his words processed, still looking somewhat dissatisfied but leaning into his hand in reluctant acceptance.

"You'll call regularly?" Daichi smiled at her small pout.

"Of course." He turned his face to a teary eyed Kunou clutching to her mother's clothing. "I'll call and video chat with all three of you regularly. I'll make trips back to Japan every few months, so don't look so down, little fox." He opened up his free arm to which she immediately dashed in to hug him tight. "It will still be a few days before I leave. I need to make plans and prepare, after all." A look from Yasaka said she had something to say on the matter, but that they would discuss it later.

It was several more minutes before he finally managed to console the girls and the group broke for lunch. Afterward, Daichi met with Yasaka in her office to have that discussion he was anticipating.

"The girls and I actually had an idea about your destination, at least to start."

Daichi cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh?"

Yasaka nodded to his unspoken question.

"Gabriel has been feeling rather left out with how little she's been able to help, so we put our heads together. We think sending you to Italy to do some work for the Vatican would be a great way to expand your influence, experience new dangers, and meet new people with a relatively safe and central base, not to mention their trainers and top members have a reputation that garners respect from even the supernatural." Yasaka pushed forward, not letting him speak in order to get her full persuasive argument out first.

"With Gabriel willing to vouch for you, the church will practically be tripping over themselves to help you hone your skills, plus it will be a show of good faith from the Youkai to the Christian faction. Gabriel and Sera are already working wonders on Angel and Devil relations, and the Youkai are benefiting by association, so getting their mortal counterparts involved and onboard will be immensely helpful. That's before we begin to discuss the Grecian pantheon just next door. Freyja has mentioned introducing you to a few of her connections within Olympus since they'll be in such close proximity." Daichi simply sat for a moment as he blinked at her.

"You sold me on it when you mentioned it was for Gabriel, though I guess the rest of it is a definite bonus. As long as the church doesn't try to string me up and crucify me or something for intruding in their territory, I'm okay with doing some public relations and ally building on the side. I trust all of you." It helped that something like a quarter of the main cast were currently in training at the Vatican. Daichi needed no incentive to put canon to the torch.

"Good." Yasaka smiled. "I was worried it would take more to persuade you, but I guess I shouldn't be too surprised with one of your girls involved."

"_You_ are one of my girls. I'd have done it even if it had just been you asking."

"Oh? So bold, Daichi-kun!" Daichi snorted. Of all the older powerful women in his life, Yasaka was likely the closest to him in their power disparity. He could already tell, when she wasn't drawing from the leyline. The gods and goddesses he had associated with so far had an _immensity_ to them, a natural pressure which showed that by simply existing they were beyond mortal means.

Yasaka had a similar, if not quite as large presence while connected. Her base power, however, was within his reach. Not yet at five tails, and it wouldn't be at six, but something deep inside him told him, purred in his ear, that at seven with the qualitative shift in his power, he would be her equal and she would be his for the taking. His ancestral memories and instincts stated it as fact, one that he was attributing to his direct descent from Inari.

He had long held suspicions, but beyond his special treatment with his training, he had little proof that he was in any way _more_ than any other Youkai. Now that he been able to spend a good amount of time immersing himself among his native people and associating with other Kitsune beyond Yasaka and Kunou, he knew he was, if not special, then at least different. Something intrinsic within him and those around him seemed to recognize his, for lack of a better phrase, innate superiority. It wasn't a complex or mental state he liked to indulge in, since there was no true superiority in this world other than the one achieved with power, but his instincts and bloodline made it apparent in their presence that he was at least a purer entity than other Youkai.

Yasaka's Daitengu aide chose that moment to make his presence known, knocking at the door before entering, bowing to both of the current occupants.

"Yasaka-sama, Daichi-sama." Daichi nodded in acknowledgment before the aide, Soujoubou, continued. "Yasaka-sama, the other faction leaders are awaiting your presence in the meeting room. The call connections have already been established." Yasaka nodded, dismissing him as she stood and began making her way to the door.

"Thank you, Soujoubou-san. I'll be there momentarily." She turned back to Daichi as the Daitengu left the room. "I assume you'll begin packing for your trip." Daichi gave her a nod. "Make sure to speak with Mina and establish a structured plan for her before you leave. She's still in a precarious position emotionally despite the progress we've made. You're her main support. She relies on you and looks up to you as a model of strength." The pair strolled through the halls towards the room she used to host virtual meetings with important colleagues and dignitaries.

"Don't worry, I know. Even if she falls from the edge, I'll drag her ass back up if I have to. She knows she's not allowed to revel in vengeance or negativity, or I'll thrash her so hard she'll wish she was back to normal training. She holds the emotions deep but as of right now they're exclusively used to fuel her growth." The pair paused outside the doors to the meeting room. "I'll take her on an initiation mission before I leave. Regardless, have a couple shadow corps watch over her, especially on any contracts that involve devils. They'll need to be skilled in Senjutsu, otherwise she'll flush them out and lose them faster than the operatives can blink. She's become unbelievably skilled in the practice."

Yasaka hummed in agreement.

"I'll be sure to do so. We'll discuss more about necessary arrangements later."

He gave her a smile and turned to leave, one of Daichi's tails coming up and stroking her chin with the tip as he left, heading towards his room.

"Cheeky little fox." She murmured with a fond smile as he rounded the corner. Yasaka took another moment to straighten her posture and bearing, adjusting herself and her clothing slightly in preparation for the discussion over their current shadow war against the Naberius clan. A sharper, more predatory and serious gleam settled into her eyes. The latest reports from the Northern faction who were heading the effort stated the Youkai were on the verge of success, having nearly wiped the Devils' operations from the face of the mortal world.

They had taken their time, slowly stalking, plotting, and planning during the first two years, systematically categorizing and learning as much as they could about the family's mortal operations. The third year had been a blitzkrieg assault resulting in an almost complete annihilation of their enemy's resources. There had only been a few holdouts, more militarized endeavors that had been more defensively capable, requiring greater planning to successfully wipe from the face of the earth. It was her hope that this meeting would provide news of their success, and give a measure of peace to their resident Nekoshou.

**A/N:**

No excuse for the delay, I just haven't felt like working on this project.

A couple things for this chapter. First, you could probably tell I'm playing with honorifics and some Japanese terminology. I'll likely continue to do this when conversations involve Japanese speakers, as honorifics and certain vocabulary has a level of cultural implication beyond their English translations.

**Fun Fact 1: **For example, Hahaue, Kunou's name for her mother (which is what she calls her in the show) is Haha-ue, 母上, Haha another term for mother, and the addition of 'ue' which is an old-fashioned fancy way of address. It technically isn't an honorific, hence the combination spelling with no hyphen. The kanji and meaning of 'ue' by itself means 'up, above, over' and other similar concepts. It literally translates to something like 'Esteemed mother', which doesn't make much sense or flow very well in English writing, particularly in dialogue.

It's a subtle thing that can't really be captured without the original term and its cultural background, which is the same with honorifics.

Second, I made a mistake with Rossweisse's age in earlier chapters that I will be fixing for the sake of timeline continuity. She's younger than I originally stated based on the timeline I originally set out. I mixed up Daichi's real age and appearance during those chapters. For clarity, she would now be sixteen at this chapter's point in the timeline, Daichi is twelve, but appears fourteen, Mina is fourteen, and Kunou is six. We're approximately five to six years from the start of canon.

**Fun Fact 2:** Soujoubou is the name of one of the actual Daitengu, hailing from Mount Kurama. I figured fans of Naruto would particularly enjoy this one.

**Yukilumi** – I'm glad I've managed to fool you all into believing I have a plan and I'm not just writing by the seat of my pants, muahahahaha.

Youjutsu literally translates to black magic or sorcery, so yea, magic.

**Yami-Guy** – Yes, Mina is an OC. I'm still undetermined on how involved she will be in the story but she exists now since that's what the word vomit that came out of my imagination decided needed to happen.

**Scandalf** – Honestly, Senjutsu is super OP. It's why I started him off with that and why he received such a huge power boost simply from achieving a general mastery over it.

**Kirashu** – Glad you've enjoyed it so far :)

**Guest – **Yes, it's fanon. Good thing this is fanfiction so I can take some artistic liberties with what to include ;)

**Abrams 1559** – Nope, it's stated in canon they have around a 10000-year life span. It's just that 10k years is so long that it seems like they're immortal.

**Silver PND** – Thank you!

**Ragnas Bredvolts **– Like I discuss in the chapter, they won't be able to storm the underworld without a lot of preparation. Also, I'm of the opinion that losing a single family, pillar or not, would be well worth cultivating an alliance with an entire country worth of supernatural entities of a separate pantheon after their family essentially disobeyed direct orders from their leadership and left behind enough evidence to substantiate an act of war.

**Guest** – I fixed Gandhi's name, my bad. Names tend to get mixed up when typing at speed, especially ones I'm not entirely familiar with.

**SlyMonster – **Hope this chapter answered your question!

**Anom1** – It's not generally known, though Yasaka is likely aware based on his interactions with Inari. Nobody has explicitly said anything about it except himself to Mina. Him being a Yako carries a pretty powerful stigma considering Yako kitsune are generally almost entirely malicious spirits, not to mention he's still a child, and therefore perceived as someone that needs guidance and discipline.

Yes, he's technically a divine fox, though that's not to be confused with a Heavenly fox (Zenko). Yasaka and Kunou are the closest to divine due to their special bloodline as well as being nine tails. Tenko foxes are ascendant, basically meaning gods. Hope that clears up any confusion.

**As a tertiary note, I'm going to start limiting my responses to reviews in chapters. I recommend joining my Discord for timely answers or up to date information on my writing.**


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